Catch Me
by turtlegron
Summary: Quinn pays Rachel a visit in New York and finds her in need of a friend. We'll see what happens from that. Faberry. Post-graduation. No Brody.
1. Surprise

A/N: Hi everyone!

This is my first chapter story (and I'd like to say my first story too since the other one was short and lame) so I ask you to be patient with the mistakes I might have made. This chapter starts with Rachel living alone in NYC, pretty much ditched because of the Finn thing, and after Quinn arrives she feels a little better and yeah. They're still friends, but in the future that might develop into something else, I don't know just yet.

Hope you like it! :)

* * *

Rain is pouring outside Rachel's apartment window. She is sitting on her living room couch, snuggling with a blanket and watching raindrops race against the glass, her thoughts drifting far away from there. A popcorn bucket is lying on the ground, next to the singer's pair of slippers with big golden stars on them. The television is on, but nobody's watching.

It's been two weeks since Rachel moved to New York. She feels half empty, like the half of her heart that belonged to Finn is now completely torn apart, but the other one is still eager for adventures in the Big Apple. It's the same feeling she got after she choked on her NYADA audition, but from a different side now, since back then she was still going to marry Finn and the reason for her sadness was the thought of not being able to go to New York.

Replaying her last few Lima moments in her mind and crying around the corners of her new apartment is something Rachel does on a daily basis. She never wanted it to be like this. If only Finn could be there with her... Or even Kurt. At least he always knew how to cheer her up. And he truly deserved to have got in NYADA. His audition had been fantastic.

But questioning things in the past is not going to take her anywhere, she thinks. She's Rachel Barbra Berry. She's a star. She was always determined to be a star and now she's halfway through her way. She's made it to New York. She might be sitting alone and looking out her window now, but one day this will be over; Finn will come back and they will be infinitely happy together...

The doorbell suddenly rings.

"Who's there?" Rachel asks in a guttural voice.

Seeing no one will answer, the singer gets off the couch lazily, straightens up her clothes, puts on her slippers and walks towards the door, still wondering who it might be. Nobody ever visits her except for Santana, but she knows the girl is not coming this weekend because she is spending the weekend with Brittany in Lima.

What if it's Finn? The thought makes Rachel hesitate for a second. No. He wouldn't do that. He was clear when he said they had to let go for now. Visiting her in New York wouldn't be a very smart thing to do if he was really trying to let go. Finn is not that smart, though, is he? Anyway, Rachel knows it's not him. She shakes the idea off her mind and holds a sigh in. When she finally opens the door, her mouth falls open.

Quinn Fabray.

"Hi Rachel!" the blonde grins and hugs her.

"Hello Quinn." Rachel replies embarrassedly, despite her attempt to show composure in her voice. Yes, they were friends now, but that doesn't necessarily mean they're close enough to show up at each other's doors out of the blue, especially living 3 hours apart, does it?

"You seem confused by my visit." Quinn chuckles and then gets serious, "I just thought maybe you could use a friend, especially after -"

"Well, thank you very much, Quinn. There's no need to explain yourself, it's nice to see you here." Rachel interrupts her, faking a smile.

Quinn gives her a thin smile back and an awkward silence takes place for a few seconds.

"So this is where I live now..." Rachel says, inviting the girl in through gestures. "Like it?"

"Oh yeah, seems really nice!"

Quinn replies, looking around. "I like your couch." she sneers. "You seem to like it a lot too."

Rachel glances at the sofa and sees wrinkled blankets and pillows, the popcorn bucket on the ground and three empty cups of coffee on the table. It really looks like she's spent the entire week sitting on that couch.

"To be honest, Quinn, I'd appreciate it if you would stop mocking me."

"I'm sorry, Rachel. Won't happen again. But if we're being honest, I'd like you to know you don't have to pretend you're okay, especially when I know you're not. If you want to open up about what happened and anything else, I'm right here."

"I'm fine, Quinn. There's nothing more to say, you know exactly what happened."

Rachel sighs. There is a pause in which she stares at the ground waiting for Quinn to say something, but the blonde just watches her expression worriedly. They stay like that for a few seconds until Rachel feels Quinn's arms wrap around her one more time. She shudders at the contact and makes an effort not to cry as her chin goes over the blonde's shoulder. Quinn notices and gently strokes the brunette's arm as an attempt to comfort her, which doesn't seem to work, because, on the next second, a tear is sliding down Rachel's cheek.

"Oh, Rach, don't cry... It'll be okay. Let's just get ice cream and watch some Barbra movies."

The girl can't help but smile a little and hug her friend tighter. Quinn has never called her "Rach" before and it is the sweetest thing she's heard in a while. It feels like a light has been turned on in her heart and she's ready to get through the day. Rachel already sounds more positive after they let go of the hug:

"Funny Girl is on the DVD player, obviously. I'm going to get the ice cream in the kitchen. You can sit on the couch since you like it so much."

The blonde laughs. While she waits, she takes a better look at her friend's living room. There are lovely paintings on the walls and a huge piano. Everything except for the couch area feels neat, fresh and welcoming. The air smells like vanilla and berries - Rachel's smell. Quinn is admiring the view from the window when the brunette walks back into the room.

"So, I have vanilla, strawberry and chocolate ice cream. I brought them all."

"Yay!" Quinn smiles and taps on the spot next to her on the couch, inviting Rachel to sit there.

The brunette sits down and gives Quinn a spoon for the ice cream. When the movie starts playing, they pull the blanket in the couch so it covers both of them.

Rachel basically spends the two and a half hours of the movie gushing about how flawless Barbra Streisand is and trying to convince Quinn of that, even though she had agreed with her from the start. When the credits start rolling, though, Quinn is sure she hears Rachel whisper "Thank you, Quinn".

"Sorry, did you say something?"

"I said 'thank you', Quinn. Because you've come all the way to New York just to hear me go on and on about Barbra and you don't even seem to mind that."

"It's fine, Rach. As long as you're not half as lonely as you seemed earlier, I'm happy. Ramble about whatever you want, really. I'm listening."

"That means a lot, really." Rachel smiles shyly, still not used to Quinn Fabray being this nice to her, let alone calling her "Rach".

"I like being friends with you." she continues.

"Yeah, me too, Rachel." Quinn smiles lazily.

Before the brunette even knows why, she's changing the subject of the conversation.

"So when did you get here?"

"This morning. Santana said I could have her place while she's in Lima."

"Oh... Don't you want to stay over tonight, though? I mean, we really need to catch up! And we can order in if you want to."

"I'd love to... But wouldn't that be trouble for you?"

"Absolutely not!"

They both smile.

"So, how's Puck?" Rachel asks, suddenly.

"Oh, you know, nothing really happened after I kissed him that day. I just did it because I care about him and wanted him to be more confident so he would pass; the spark's been gone for a while now, even though you may think otherwise."

"Oh, well, you also thought Finn and I were made for each other in the end and look at us now." Rachel laughs affectedly.

"I'm so sorry, Rachel. I wish I could do something to make your pain go away. But I hope you know he loves you."

"You are helping me. Thank you for being here."

The next few minutes are filled with a discussion on what the girls are going to order in. They end up deciding on Italian food and, while they wait, the phone rings.

"Hello?" Rachel answers.

"Hi Berry." Santana replies.

"How are you and Brittany?"

"We're fine. Brit's sending you an unicorn hug, whatever that means. How are you?"

"I'm pretty good, actually. Quinn's here."

There's a pause and Rachel is almost sure she hears Santana whisper "told you" to Brittany on the other side of the line.

"Santana? Are you still there?"

"Yeah... Quinn told me she was going to New York this weekend and I kind of figured she'd want to see you. I even offered her my place. How is she?"

"She's alright. Do you want to talk to her?"

"Sure."

Rachel hands Quinn the phone.

"Hey Santana. What's up?"

"Hey Q. Not much, just wanted to let you know the keys are under the doormat."

"Oh, thanks. I won't need them tonight, though."

"What are you up to, Teen Mom?"

"I'm staying at Rachel's."

"Oh, I see. Take good care of Gay Berry then."

"I will. Tell Brit I said hi."

"Okay. I love you, girl."

"Bye. Love you too."

Rachel and Quinn stay silent for a couple of seconds after Quinn hangs up the phone, the sound of the rain hitting the window getting more and more intense. The blonde is about to say something when they hear the doorbell.

"It should be the food." Rachel utters, walking swiftly towards the door.

Quinn watches as the delivery guy greets Rachel and hands her the food, telling her how much she had to pay for it.

"Hey, I have the money here!" the blonde says, rushing to her bag to get her wallet, when she notices Rachel is having trouble finding hers.

"Thank you, Quinn." the brunette whispers as she gets the bills from her friend's hands and gives them to the delivery guy. "I'll pay you later."

"Good night, ladies" the man says.

Rachel and Quinn reply "Good night" in unison and the singer closes the door, smiling.

"So, where do we eat?" the blonde asks, feeling a bit hungry.

"Let's just go to the kitchen" Rachel replies.

"Okay. And you have to tour me around this place later!" Quinn demands as she follows her friend to the kitchen and sits on one of the stools placed behind the counter, like Rachel.

"Alright."

Rachel grabs a package with vegetarian lasagna out of the bag the delivery guy gave her and Quinn grabs one with spaghetti and white sauce. While the girls eat, they talk about how they would probably be at Breadstix with the Glee Club guys if they were still living in Ohio.

They remain seated and talking after their food is over. Rachel seems better; she now smiles and jokes from time to time, which makes Quinn feel peaceful. Her only reason for coming to New York was to check up on the brunette - not that she would ever admit to that - so the fact that she is helping in some way is a positive thing.

"Quinn, oh my God, I didn't even ask you where you prefer to sleep!" Rachel exclaims, still recovering from laughing at something her friend had said. "There's the couch, but it won't be a girls night if we don't sleep in the same room... So what do you prefer, setting up a mattress on my bedroom floor or sleeping in my bed?"

"I don't want to put you through much trouble... I'd be sleeping in your bed... With you?"

"Yes. But if you'd have a problem with that I'm sure we can figure something else out."

"No, it's fine by me."

"Okay. So what do you want to do now?"

"I was thinking the normal things people do at sleepovers."

"Like what?"

The thought of Santana kissing Brittany at their last sleepover suddenly crosses Quinn's mind before she answers and the blonde quickly manages to forget it.

"Watching movies, which we already did, telling secrets, having deep conversations... I don't know… Having… Pillow fights?" Quinn smirks while pronouncing the last two words. Before she has time to do anything, Rachel is rushing out the kitchen door. The blonde follows the singer asking what she's doing but, instead of an answer, she gets a pillow on her face.

"Oh no you didn't!" she yells, her voice showing comic anger.

"Oh yes I did!"

In a swift movement, Quinn grabs the pillow that hit her face from the floor and throws it at Rachel. While the brunette is disorientated by the pillow thrown at her, the blonde goes over to the sofa, grabs another pillow and throws it at her direction.

"That's what you get when you mess with Quinn Fabray." Quinn brags.

When the pillows fall on the ground, though, she sees Rachel's face is extremely red and the girl seems to be crying.

"Rachel, are you okay?"

"That hurt, Quinn!"

Quinn walks to the girl, feeling a mixture of guilt, worriedness and uncertainty of what she should do next.

"I'm so sorry, oh my God"

Rachel then grabs both pillows lying on the floor and throws them at the blonde in a split second.

"God Rachel! I- how-" Quinn stutters, laughing and running her hands through her choppy hair, now completely messy due to the pillow.

"Don't forget I'm a natural Broadway star"

"You're so lame, Berry." the blonde jokes, lovingly. Her mind, though, is brought back to when she used to "hate" Rachel - or at least act like she did - despite having no reason for that.

"I doubt you'll say that when I'm getting standing o's on a Broadway stage."

"I might. I'll still be Quinn Fabray, you know."

"Well, the Quinn Fabray I met at high school would never have travelled 3 hours just to see me, so I guess there's a chance this side of you might change too."

"Wait, what makes you think I came here just to see you?" Quinn asks, in a way that is by no means skeptical; it just sounds like she really wants to know the answer to the question.

"I mean, you said you got here today and came straight here, without even stopping by Santana's to leave your things..."

"Yeah. You're right. I was quite worried about you, Rach." Surprisingly for both girls, Quinn set her pride in denying the truth aside and admitted to having a soul, and, most importantly, a soul that cares for her friends.

"This is just so unreal yet real."

"What?"

"To see you be honest with me and not try to hide that you care. It's unreal for obvious reasons and real because you're here right in front of me and I can smell you and see you and feel your presence and hear your voice and this is happening and I haven't felt like anything was happening in about a week."

"If Santana was here she'd say she fell asleep with your sappy little speech. I liked it, though. Again, you're right. This does feel both weird and natural at the same time."

"I loved my day today, though. I needed a day off of my own mind to be with my best friend."

Quinn's brows lift at the last two words and she can't contain a lazy smile. "Best friend", she repeats in a whisper, almost involuntarily.

"Yeah." Rachel says, reassuringly.

Quinn holds Rachel's hand and smiles wider. "I... I'm sorry, Rachel" the blonde says, after a pause.

"For what?"

"For the fact that we never really had a proper conversation about why I suddenly became your friend and why I had treated you like shit for such a long time. And the way you act like you're so okay with all this and even consider me your best friend makes me feel even more guilty."

"Quinn, I am okay with this. For real. All that is over, we're friends now and that's the only thing that matters, right?"

"Right. It's just that I thought I had to tell you I wouldn't mind talking about that... Because you could be, I don't know, unsure about bringing it up...?"

"I see what you mean. I do get confused and surprised with your actions sometimes. But I'm fine with it because I think that's just the way you are, not because I'm afraid you'd be uncomfortable if I enquired you about it. That doesn't mean I would stop you if you wanted to explain yourself, though."

"Okay. Well, I guess we can leave that for later, then."

"Alright. Let's go to bed now?"

"Yeah, if by going to bed you mean watching movies, having deep talks and not really sleeping."

"That's exactly what I mean."


	2. One Step Closer

A/N: Hey guys!

Thank you for the crazy amount of visits to the first chapter! I'm really excited about this one; it's got some singing, a Dianna reference and Faberry cuteness. I also have a better idea of what the rest of the story will be now, but you'll have to wait and see ;)

* * *

"Quinn?" Rachel yells from her bed when _Arms_ by Christina Perri starts playing on her _iPig_. It's been almost five minutes since the blonde has entered the bathroom and she's not willing to listen to this song alone; it reminds her of Finn.

"Just a second" the blonde replies, checking herself out in the mirror one last time after brushing her teeth and putting on her pajamas.

Rachel sighs.

"I love this song." Quinn says smiling when she gets in the room.

"...I used to." Rachel replies lowering her head.

"Okay, stop. First step to letting go is allowing yourself to listen to good music regardless of the fact that it reminds you of him."

"I can't, Quinn. I feel so weak. I just can't." the brunette breaks down crying, covering her face with her hands.

The blonde walks to Rachel's bed, sits down in front of her and touches her arm.

"Rachel. Look at me." she doesn't say anything else until the girl's hands leave her face and her eyes are planted on her. "You are not weak. You are the strongest person I know. You are going to get through this and I am going to be here until you're done. Do you understand?"

Rachel feels Quinn hold her hand tight and nods hesitantly. The blonde wraps her arms around her and lets go after a few seconds.

"Now sing with me." Quinn asks. "_I hope that you see right through my walls…_"

Rachel looks at her friend, perfectly toned lyrics coming out of her mouth. She feels vulnerable and insecure, yet impelled to sing by a tiny beam of hope in her heart.

"_I hope that you catch me 'cause I'm already falling._" she finishes.

"_I'll never let our love get so close_"

"_You put your arms around me and I'm ho-o-o-ome, ho-o-o-ome, ho-o-o-o-ome._" A single teardrop rolls down Rachel's cheek as she finishes the chorus.

"_I try my best to never let you in_

_To see the truth_

_And I've never opened up_

_I've never truly loved 'till you_"

"...P_ut your arms around me_

_And I believe it's easier for you to let me go"_

"See, you can do this." Quinn says during the instrumental part between the bridge and the chorus.

Rachel answers with a shy smile and continues singing.

"_I hope that you see right through my walls._

_I hope that you catch me 'cause I'm already falling._"

"_I'll never let our love get so close_"

"_You put your arms around me and I'm home._"

"_You put your arms around me and I'm home._"

"Just... Thank you, Quinn."

"You don't have to thank me. What's the next song in your Finn playlist?"

"A Thousand Years. But how did you know...?"

"Everyone has those."

"Can I see yours?"

"I don't have one."

"You just said everyone did..."

"I'm Quinn Fabray. Do you really think I'd spend my time crafting a playlist for a stupid boy or even reminiscing my relationship with him through any song?" Quinn says laughing, but not in a mean way. "Just press play."

Rachel snickers at her friend, presses the "play" button on the remote and starts singing along with the song.

_"Hearts beat fast_

_Colors and promises_

_How to be brave_

_How can I love when I'm afraid to fall?_

_But watching you stand alone_

_All of my doubt suddenly goes away somehow_

_One step clo-ser."_

A tear rolls down Quinn's cheek. Rachel stops singing, presses the "stop" button on the remote and looks right into her teary hazel eyes and holds her hand without saying anything.

"I'm sorry. You can keep singing. It's just that… It's a beautiful song." Quinn whispers.

"No, Quinn. Don't be sorry." the brunette intercepts. "Remember when I said you were the prettiest girl I'd ever met and how you were a lot more than that?"

"Yes." the blonde replies, a slight smile crossing her face.

"It's in moments like this that I see how much more than that you are."

Quinn remains silent and lowers her head. She feels a heavy pain in her throat and doesn't know exactly why it's there.

"Hey. Listen to me." Rachel says, lifting the blonde's chin up carefully. "At first I thought you were just a really pretty girl, but now that you've let me in I see true beauty, not just the cheerleader type. I see feelings and scars and things that only make it deeper. There's no need to be ashamed of those. I see the them and I see the real you, and it's amazing, Quinn."

The blonde smiles involuntarily and a few more tears stream down her face, her hand holding onto Rachel's tighter than before.

"Rach... Thank you. I… You're amazing. Thank you."

Rachel hugs her warmly and she feels the pain in her throat go away, along with her sudden urge to cry.

"It's okay." the brunette whispers.

"So, the music thing is obviously not doing any good. Maybe we should watch a movie?" Quinn suggests, showing quick recovery from her emotional moment.

"Yeah... I don't have any DVD's here except for the Barbra ones, though. I still have to bring a lot from Ohio."

"Maybe we should check what's on?"

"Okay."

Rachel turns off the _iPig_ and grabs the TV remote, roaming through the channels until she finds something.

"Oh my God! _The Incredibly True Adventures of Two Girls In Love_ is starting! Can we please watch this one? I saw the beginning with Kurt and never got the chance to finish it! It's so cute! Please?"

"Okay, fine! I've never watched it. Don't ask me why Santana keeps calling you Gay Berry, though!"

Rachel smiles excitedly and tries to sit more comfortably on her bed. Quinn moves to sit by her side and the title of the movie appears on the screen.

"Seriously, this is the gayest thing ever, Rach. Oh my God." she says laughing.

"This is what happens when I have sleepovers with Kurt."

"You need to invite me to one of those some day."

"Okay, I'll call you next time. Now shhh, it's starting!"

Quinn gives Rachel a joking glare and stays quiet.

During the next hour, the brunette lets out countless "_aw"_s. It's really a cute story. When the protagonists kiss for the first time, Rachel comments on how adorable the scene is and lets her head rest on Quinn's shoulder. The blonde shivers with the sudden contact and starts to feel uneasy. She tries to re-arrange herself carefully on the bed because she doesn't want Rachel to move back to her original position - the girl is warm and cozy - but nothing seems to make her settle except for the next second, when the brunette touches her hand and their fingers begin to intertwine.

"Have you ever thought about this?" Rachel asks.

"About what?"

"You know, being with a girl."

"Yeah. I've kissed girls before. It's fun."

"But you did that while you were drunk, right?"

"Yes."

"So, no... I mean like, _dating_ a girl, having... _Feelings_ for her."

"Um... I've thought about it, but never really... Felt anything that... Lead me to that... I guess."

"But, anyway... Having kissed girls before... How does it feel?" Rachel says, leaving her friend's shoulder and standing face to face with her.

"Good." Quinn gasps and sees the brunette frown. "It's not weird at all, just good."

Quinn notices Rachel is pouting involuntarily. It's sending shivers down her spine an doing weird things to her stomach so she just blurts out the first thing that comes to her mind as an attempt to stop this.

"It must have been pretty weird for this girl in the movie though to be straight all her life and then change like that, though."

"How does someone know, though? I mean, except for her, because she fell in love with another girl. Like, do you consider yourself bissexual for enjoying kissing girls?"

"Not really… I've never _fallen in love_ with a girl before and I don't like labels." the blonde answers as coldly as she can to cut the conversation. "Rachel, can we just watch the movie now?"

"Yeah, alright. I'm sorry."

"Don't worry. It's normal to be curious about these things. The first time I kissed a girl was based on mutual curiosity... Besides mutual drunkenness."

Rachel gives Quinn a friendly smile and lays back on her shoulder. The blonde is once again surprised by the touch but tries her best not to show it. A few moments later their hands are intertwined again. They keep watching the movie like this for quite some time. Quinn senses Rachel's slight discomfort during a sex scene between the two main characters and hopes the brunette doesn't notice she is just as distressed.

As the movie gets closer to the end, both girls start to feel rather tired. At some point, they snuggle into each other and slowly drift into sleep, while the TV shows the protagonists of the movie - two young girls in love - kissing passionately in spite of their families yelling at them and fighting over the fact that they had run away together for a day.


	3. Cold Coffee

A/N: Hi!

The next few chapters are basically about Quinn and Rachel approaching. To be more specific, this one tells what happens right after they wake up. Honestly, it's not one of my favorite chapters so far (except for its beginning), but it needs to be done to develop the rest of the story so... I hope you like it. Also, I'm sorry for taking a little longer than the usual to update.

* * *

Quinn opens her eyes and sees the sunlight fill up the room and make the figure that she has her arms wrapped around shine like a star. She remains silent and motionless, trying not to wake up Rachel, who seems to be sleeping lightly.

The two girls are lying on their sides - a position they might have converted to at some point during the night, snuggled up together. Quinn doesn't know how she ended up with her arms around Rachel's back during her sleep, but what she does know is that now she's comfy and warm and doesn't ever want to move.

She vaguely remembers what her dream in the night before was about. It had something to do with the main character of the movie breaking her girlfriend's heart by marrying the guy she had broken up with to be with her, except the girlfriend was Quinn in her dream - that was more like a nightmare. Anyway, it's all weird, nonsense stuff for Quinn, so instead of pondering about it like Rachel most likely would, she ends up getting lost in a daydream until the moment she hears her sleepy friend mumble something.

"Finn..."

Quinn takes that as a normal thing hence her friend still loves the guy. Her mind starts to drift again, but she's interrupted for the second time.

"Quinn... "

Wait. Did Rachel just say her name? Quinn tries not to move but it's getting harder since she wants to make sure she hears whatever the girl utters next.

"Sor-ry"

The former cheerleader manages to place her head right next to Rachel's mouth without performing any abrupt movements that might wake the brunette in order to hear what she's saying.

"Quinn, what on Earth are you doing?" Rachel suddenly asks, with a sleepy, confused voice - that is impossible not to classify as cute - when she opens her eyes and sees the blonde's head floating upon her own.

Quinn bursts out laughing and sits down back on her side of the bed.

"I was trying to hear you sleep talk. Hope it didn't wake you up. Did you have a nice dream?" she scoffs.

"Why? What did I say?"

"Finn's name. My name. And 'sorry'."

"Well, I don't have any idea what I was dreaming about." Rachel says, yawning and stretching herself.

The fact that her friend is an awful liar is nothing new for Quinn, though. She pretends to believe her anyway, because it's early in the morning and she's too lazy to question anything. She will have plenty of time to enquire Rachel later.

"Do you want to go out for coffee or something?" the brunette asks.

"Yeah, sounds good. Let's just stay in bed for like three more hours first." Quinn answers.

"No, come on! I have big plans for today!" Rachel says, standing up and reaching out for Quinn's hands to get her off her bed.

"Do your plans include me?"

"Of course! What made you think they didn't?"

Quinn shrugs adorably and Rachel gives her a friendly smile.

"So, what do you have in mind?" the blonde asks.

"Nothing for the morning, but I was thinking about a picnic at Central Park for lunch and maybe spending the afternoon there too."

"Sounds good so far."

"Is there anything you want to do in particular?"

"Not really... Maybe we should just decide while we have coffee."

"Yeah. We still need to get ready. Do you think you need a shower?"

"I definitely do. I promise I'll be quick."

"It's okay. It's not like we have anything planned for the morning anyway. I'll have one too. Do you want to go first?"

"Well, I can if you want..."

"Fine, let me get you a towel then. You can use my shampoo and conditioner and anything else you need if you haven't brought your stuff. Just make yourself at home."

"Thanks, Rach."

The brunette smiles - the ever-present reaction to being called "Rach" by Quinn - and walks towards her dresser in the corner of the room. She opens one of the drawers and takes a blue towel, handing it to her friend.

"There you go."

"Thank you. I'll just take ten minutes."

Some time after they are both ready, Quinn and Rachel start to walk down the streets of New York City, heading to the closest Starbucks. Neither of them can miss the fact that the weather feels incredible. The sun heats them with the perfect intensity as a cool breeze makes its way through the city and touches their skin, causing them to feel warm and cold at the same time in an intriguing way.

They remain silent the whole way to their destination, except for the countless smiles they exchange due to the mixed temperature sensations and the appearance of odd people in the street - the types that you only see in New York. The girls communicate through looks and smiles and simply don't feel the need for a conversation until after they're settled on comfortable armchairs at the coffee shop, waiting for the iced caramel lattes they have just ordered at the counter.

"So, you haven't told me anything about NYADA yet." Quinn says, suddenly.

"You haven't told me about Yale either." Rachel replies. "NYADA is amazing, though. I like all my teachers and classes except maybe for the dance ones. It's pretty much what I expected it to be like. Feels perfect for me."

"Nice to hear you're enjoying it. Yale is great too. Drama is definitely my thing. I mean, just look at me."

"Stop being so self-deprecating, Quinn." the brunette says smiling. "Have you made any friends yet?"

"Only my roommate, I guess. But we don't even hang out together much, though, so, basically, the only thing I do on my spare time is roam around New Haven by myself, which is not half bad, actually."

"I know what that's like. I've met some people here but it's not like they even have my phone number or anything, so if it weren't for Santana and Kurt I'd be alone all the time. I miss the Glee club."

"Yeah... I miss them too."

"It's good to know we will all be together again at Mr. Schue's wedding, though."

"That includes Finn..."

"I know..."

"Maybe you guys will sort things out then?"

Rachel fixes her eyes at Quinn for a few seconds before replying ambiguously.

"Maybe."

Before Quinn has to worry about changing the subject of the conversation, the coffee guy yells their names, which means their lattes are ready. The girls go get them and sit back at their armchairs. Minutes later, they are both done with their iced coffees and still indecisive about where they are going next. However, when Rachel suggests to head straight to Central Park, they are quick in concluding this is most likely the best idea they will get since neither of them are really interested in going to museums or anything due to the fact that they have recently been to the city with the Glee club guys and done all that.

Having made up their minds, Quinn and Rachel quietly dive into the rush of mixed temperature sensations that the street is once again, this time making their way to the extensive park.


	4. Out In Manhattan

A/N: Hi guys!

I'm sorry for taking so long to update! I've been working on this chapter for a long time and I hope you like it. It's still in the "Quinn and Rachel approaching" scenario, but there's a twist coming soon. Oh, and in case I haven't made it clear, Quinn got to New York on a Friday and she's supposed to go back to New Haven on Sunday morning.

Enjoy :)

* * *

Rachel is sitting on the grass at her favorite spot in Central Park - the Great Lawn, watching people walk by right after arriving there with Quinn, who is taking lots of pictures of everything around them with her film camera, from trees and butterflies to musicians and baseball players. The sight they get is incredibly pretty and relaxing. The weather is still pleasant, remaining both warm and fresh, as it was when they were walking there, creating the perfect atmosphere.

Suddenly, Quinn stops what she's doing and turns to Rachel.

"You look beautiful under the sunlight, you know?" she says, smiling and looking at the ground when the brunette faces her. "I... I like the way your skin shines and your hair gets all honey-colored and glimmer-y. It's kind of like the proof that you're a star."

"Wow, that's... Nice of you to say, Quinn. Thank you so much." Rachel replies after a moment of hesitation, her cheeks starting to blush. "Although it's needless to say, you look gorgeous yourself."

"Would you... Mind if I took a picture of you?"

"I guess that's okay. What am I supposed to do?"

"Just do nothing, like you were before."

"Alright, I can do that. I didn't know you were that into photographs, though. When did this happen?"

"I don't know. I guess I just realized in the future I want to be able to know there were nice moments even during rough times. And also, I'd rather have memories hung on a wall or inside an album instead of roaming through my mind."

"Is this a nice moment?"

"Of course!"

"Is this a rough time?"

"Not really... You know, no babies or accidents or wheelchairs..." Quinn replies, which causes Rachel to laugh. She feels like adding "being in New York with you" but that remains as just a thought, because before she has time to say anything else, the brunette is asking her a question.

"So, should I do nothing now?"

"Yeah." the blonde says, with a lazy smile.

Rachel re-arranges herself to get her picture taken, remaining seated on the grass and trying to look as natural as possible, even though she's actually feeling quite self-conscious and nervous about how it will turn out. Quinn takes a few photographs and thanks her, still smiling.

"Too bad this is a film camera and I can't show you the result right now. I'm sure it'll be amazing."

The brunette smiles incredulously and lowers her head after her eyes meet Quinn's piercing hazel ones, because, even though lately they don't have the intention to intimidate her, she has the impression she'll never want to stop staring into them if she does it for any longer than five seconds. And that would be weird. Or Quinn would find it weird. Whatever. She's not risking it.

"You should let me take pictures of you too so we're even." Rachel suggests coyly, attempting to move on with the conversation.

"Nah. My camera, my rules." Quinn banters.

"Can we take one together, though? We have none! That's an insult to our best friends condition!"

"It sure is!" the blonde chimes in, laughing. "Fine, let's take one."

She sits next to Rachel and holds her camera in front of them. Once they are both ready and smiling, Quinn presses the "shoot" button.

"Happy now?" she asks, pulling the camera back and leaving it to rest on her chest, supported by a strap around her neck.

"Yeah. But only if you give me a copy of this one later."

"Okay. I will. Anything else?"

"Actually, if you don't mind me asking, are you done with your photographs? I'm starting to get hungry."

"Yeah, I'm hungry too."

"We still have to find some place to eat since we didn't bring food for a picnic."

"Yeah… Let's go then."

Quinn and Rachel stand up, gather their things and start to walk around the park trying to find a nice place for lunch. A whimsical restaurant with outdoor tables catches their eye and they decide to eat there when they find out it sells vegetarian food.

The food turns out to be wonderful. The weather is still evoking astonishing mixed sensations in their bodies, the sound of children laughing and birds singing still lingers in the air and all that makes them truly enjoy their time there.

"So, you didn't tell me what your dream was." Quinn comments during their meal.

"I told you I didn't remember!"

"I know you were lying, Rachel... You always have the same expression when you do."

Rachel's cheeks fluster with shame for being so easily decipherable. She truly considers telling the truth about her dream this time. That is, until it comes back to her mind and she is reminded how embarrassing that would be.

"It just doesn't matter, Quinn."

"Okay, it's fine if you don't want to tell me."

Rachel looks at Quinn curiously for a moment. She thought her friend wouldn't give up that easily, but is relieved that she did - or at least seemed to.

The girls remain seated for quite some time, enjoying dessert as well. After they pay the check, their waiter, who is clearly gay and proud, stops by their table.

"Hey, can I just say something before you guys leave?"

"Um... Yeah…?" Quinn replies.

"I couldn't stop myself from noticing the way you look at each other. It's just adorable! You guys are the cutest couple ever!"

"I'm sorry?!" the blonde gasps.

"We're not a couple!" Rachel exclaims, her voice sounding incidentally more high-pitched.

"Yeah, you say that now... Well, anyway, I hope you have a nice day... And come out some time soon." the young man says with a smirk on his face, turning around and walking away right after.

The two girls start babbling things about how they're not lesbians but stop when they realize their waiter is too far gone to hear what's coming out of their mouths. Quinn then turns to look at Rachel and sees the brunette do the same thing back at her. They stare at each other for no longer than a second, their faces still taken by some sort of mixture between restrained laughter and shock.

"Oh my God!" Rachel exclaims, finally bursting into a giggle.

"Where did that even come from?" Quinn asks, with a slight frown and a grin on her face, finding the man's idea insane, yet somehow funny.

"I don't know! We're not even being touchy-feely like yesterday!"

Quinn takes a moment to absorb what she has just heard. Is Rachel really saying the idea of them as a couple wouldn't have been as insane and laughable if they were still "being touchy-feely like yesterday"? What was that supposed to mean?

"His gay-dar is totally messed up." She comments, shaking her head and trying to ignore the brunette's comment.

"Definitely. He needs some classes with Santana."

The blonde's mind is brought back to when Santana told her to "stop making out with Berry" at prom. She wonders if Rachel even remembers that. But then she convinces herself that her friend doesn't necessarily mean the Latina's gay-dar is _never_ wrong. Plus, it was obviously a joke when Santana said that at prom. She should really stop searching everything Rachel says for alternative meanings.

"Speaking of Santana, I still need to get my stuff at your apartment and bring it to hers tonight." She notes, grasping her cue to change the subject of the conversation.

"What? No! Now you're staying with me until the second you go back to New Haven tomorrow morning, unless you have a problem with that!"

"...Are you sure, Rach? I don't want to bother you or anything..."

"Quinn, you're my best friend. Of course I'm sure."

Quinn opens a lazy smile.

"I love you, Rachel."

The words come out of her mouth as the natural progression to their conversation. It's almost involuntary for Quinn. Not that she doesn't mean what she says; she means every letter of it.

The brunette beams. In a few seconds, she starts to look directly at Quinn's eyes, thoughtfully. The blonde girl glances back at the chocolate brown eyes that stare into her like they want to unravel every inch of her soul while she waits for an answer to her spontaneous "I love you". And it comes seconds later.

"I love you too, Quinn."

Quinn's face is lit up with an even wider smile. Seconds later, she beckons to Rachel and they wrap each other in a hug that seems to last a lifetime - but to neither of them a lifetime feels like it's enough. They are interrupted by a waitress that hadn't talked to them before.

"Have you guys paid your check yet?" the young woman asks, coming up to their table.

"Oh, yes, I'm sorry, we forgot to leave!" Rachel apologizes clumsily while trying to grab her bag.

"It's alright." The waitress replies with a grin, finding her client's excuse pretty amusing. She glances at Quinn, who is holding in a laugh, and then back at Rachel. "Have a nice day, girls."

"Thanks! You too!" the brunette says, already standing on her feet.

"We forgot to leave?" Quinn repeats, raising her brow, after the waitress finally walks away and she and Rachel start wandering around the park again.

"What? What's the problem with that?"

"There's no problem at all! It's a completely normal thing to say!" the blonde mocks.

"Well, did you want me to tell her we were distracted by our emotional moment?"

"No, oh my God! I'm just saying I would've done better than 'we forgot to leave'."

"Except you didn't!" Rachel quips.

"Shut it, Berry." Quinn banters.

Both girls start to laugh. It feels good to be so close now. They walk for a while, talking about everything and nothing. Some people in the park stare at them curiously - including boys that seem very interested in them, but Quinn and Rachel are so entertained with their conversation that the looks go unnoticed.

Some time later, Quinn comes up with the idea of catching a Broadway matinee. Rachel obviously agrees; adding that she's in a _Mamma Mia!_ mood when the blonde asks if she's got any suggestions. Having decided on the musical, the two walk until they find a subway station. From that point on, they catch the subway to the station that is closest to the Winter Garden Theatre - where _Mamma Mia!_ is performed - and, as soon as they get there, purchase their tickets for the matinee that is supposed to start soon. Rachel guides them most of the time; even though she hasn't gone out much after she's moved in, it's her absolute favorite city in the world, so she knows her way around like the palm of her hand.

The girls laugh and sing along the whole time during the musical. Every once in a while, Rachel looks at her friend with the corner of her eye to check if she's enjoying the show and Quinn always seems to be finding it amusing; a wide grin never leaves her face. The blonde also tries to catch glimpses of Rachel's reactions to the show, because somehow, unlike most people, she isn't really annoyed by the excitement that Broadway musicals evoke in her friend; she actually finds it kind of adorable.

When the main characters - Donna and her daughter Sophie - start singing _Slipping Through My Fingers_ in a nostalgic "mother-seeing-how-her-daughter-has-grown-up" scene, though, Rachel's expression turns into something completely different: sadness for never having that type of mother-daughter relationship. Quinn manages to see that within one of her glimpses and knows exactly what is going on; it's an emotive scene for anyone, but for Rachel it can only mean one thing. She sees the brunette's hand placed on her seat's arm and carefully wraps it into her own. The girl turns to look at her a bit surprised, but when Quinn smiles at her, Rachel's pounding heartbeats reach a more peaceful rhythm. After that, both of them turn back to the show, still holding hands.

"That was fun." Quinn comments, while she and Rachel make their way out of the theatre.

"Yeah..."

The girls agree without discussion to stop at a Café near there. After they're settled on a table, Rachel sighs and starts talking again.

"Quinn... Thank you. For _Slipping Through My Fingers._.. You know. "

"It's no problem" the blonde replies, smiling.

"No, really, thank you, Quinn. I..."

She's interrupted by the blonde's cellphone ringing. Quinn waits too long to give Rachel a sign that she'd rather listen to what she was saying than answer the phone; so long that it seems like she wants permission to postpone their conversation instead.

"You should get that." The brunette finally says, with an undecipherable expression.

"Oh. Right. I probably should." Quinn answers, failing to disguise the hint of disappointment in her voice.


	5. Crashing Down

A/N: Hey guys!

Santana's call basically changes everything, so that's what this chapter revolves around. It gets pretty Quinn-centered at some point, but the next one should be more focused on Rachel. I'm sorry for taking a long time to write again, I'm pretty busy with school. Hope you like it :)

* * *

"Hello?" Quinn utters when she finally gets her phone.

"Quinn, thank God!" Santana's voice says on the other side. "I hate to ruin your _rendezvous_ with Berry, but there's something I need you to tell her."

"This is not a _rendezvous_, Santana. What is it?"

The tiny brunette fumbles uncomfortably on her seat when she hears something about a _rendezvous_.

"Finn's on a train to New York as we speak." Santana reveals after a long pause.

"What?" Quinn exclaims, suddenly standing up from her chair and walking away from their table at the café, leaving Rachel curious about what was going on.

"You heard it."

"Isn't this a little too early to come back from boot camp in Georgia?"

"My thoughts exactly. I don't know if he's given up or what he's trying to do. All I know is he wants to surprise Rachel. Kurt wanted to tell her everything himself, but Finn made him promise not to do so."

Quinn remains silent for a couple of seconds, in absolute shock.

"…What am I supposed to do?" she finally asks, in a whisper.

"I would probably tell her."

"Santana, I can't!"

"This doesn't sound like the Quinn I know." Santana says. "Definitely nothing like the defiant Quinn who went against everything and everyone, including Rachel, to stop the Finchel wedding. But I guess I can't even say that because you took a step back and supported them when you realized she wasn't going to stop it because of you."

"Santana…?" Quinn interrupts, not sure where the Latina is taking their conversation, but certainly feeling every word hit her like a punch in the stomach.

"Look, what I'm saying is, now's the time to be the excruciatingly honest bitch that I know you are. If she's really surprised by him and doesn't have time to think, it can be worse."

"Wait, how long do you think he'll take to get here?"

"I'm not sure. Porcelain didn't tell me exactly when Finn got the train, but he said it was really early this morning and it takes about 18 hours, so he should be there soon."

"Oh my God. This is so stupid. Rachel seems so much better… Finn being here will only bring her down. I can't tell her."

"What are you really scared of, Quinn? Berry being brought down again or the possibility of her getting back together with Finn? Just stop being so selfish and tell her already."

"What are you in-"

"Listen, we don't have time to count the evidences of your huge lesbian crush on Rachel going on since God knows when. Starting with the real reason you're in New York right now. If you can't tell her about _that_, then at least tell her about Finn."

"_What?_ I don-"

"Talk to you later."

"Don't-"

Santana hangs up before Quinn can stop her. The blonde sighs and puts her cellphone back in her pocket, unsuccessfully trying to control the overwhelming mixture of feelings taking over her mind. A familiar pain is starting to burn in the back of her throat and her head is beginning to boil with incessant thoughts about everything Santana said.

_"We don't have time to count the evidences of your huge lesbian crush on Rachel going on since God knows when"..._

She still remembers when the Latina told her to _"stop making out with Berry"_ at prom, but this time she clearly wasn't joking. She wants to be defensive, she wants to contest all that in her mind and laugh about how messed up Santana's ideas are... But she doesn't.

What if Santana is _right_, though? What if she's _always_ been right, _all this time_?

Quinn knows the truth. Or at least part of her knows it - the vulnerable, scared, emotional part of her that not many people know. She's never had the courage to admit it, not even to herself. But now Santana knows. And she just can't deny it anymore.

S_he has feelings for Rachel Berry._

Not only she has them, she's had them _"since God knows when"_. Long before coming to New York, graduating, letting Rachel have the prom queen title, having the accident, opposing herself to the Finchel wedding and later deciding to support it in order to see Rachel happy, being convinced by the brunette to let Shelby have Beth, saying they were "kind of friends"… Maybe even before her punk phase and having Rachel ask her to come back; maybe even when she used to bully her and call her names and draw pornographic pictures on the bathroom walls... Maybe even when she first joined the Glee Club.

It's all a blur now. It's all a blur except for clear memories of chocolate brown eyes and pink lips and dark brown hair falling free on silk skin shoulders covered by polka dot dresses and wool sweaters or cardigans; and, of course, the most flawless voice she's ever heard, the only one that makes her shiver every time it sings.

Quinn catches herself smiling, but is soon reminded there's nothing to smile about. This is quite possibly the worst time for her to embrace her crush on Rachel. She doesn't stand a chance. The girl will probably get back together with Finn once he arrives and she'll just return to New Haven and pretend none of this ever happened. There's nothing left now. Nothing but the hard task of telling the girl that Finn is coming to New York. And that's what she's determined to do when she walks back to their table at the café. Except she doesn't.

"Rachel, I..."

"Quinn! God! Why did you take so long? Your latte is probably cold already!"

"I'm sorry, I..."

"Is everything okay? You look a little pale..."

"I... I'm fine. It's… Nothing."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah..."

"No, seriously, what's wrong? You know you can tell me."

"I told you, it's nothing."

Quinn appeals to her typical piercing glare in order to convince Rachel that nothing is going on. The brunette shifts her eyes away from it and stands up from her chair, handing the blonde her coffee. Quinn feels her cheeks burn when her fingers slightly touch Rachel's while she gets the plastic cup from the brunette's hands.

"Who was that on the phone?"

"Santana."

"What did she say?"

"She just wanted to tell me something about Joe... No big deal."

"If it's no big deal why do you seem so shaken up? I didn't realize you liked him this much…"

"I don't. I don't like him this much. He's nice, but I don't need a senior Jesus as a constant reminder of my past. And I really _am_ fine. Can we just drop that and go home?" Quinn says, impatiently.

"Okay, you're the boss." Rachel rolls her eyes.

The two girls walk to the brunette's apartment in absolute silence, Quinn's head still echoing everything Santana said. Lying to Rachel feels so awful, yet she has no idea how the truth will come out of her mouth. Rachel, despite having agreed to stop asking, is still certain Quinn is hiding something about that phone call. The fact that her best friend doesn't seem to trust her enough to tell the truth is upsetting. She protests by not saying anything until they reach their destination.

To their surprise, seconds after Rachel opens the door, Quinn's phone starts to ring one more time.

"Is that Santana again?" Rachel asks, a little impatient, trying to peek a view of the screen.

"Yeah."

"Can I talk to her?"

"No!" Quinn blurts out, later realizing she should have given Rachel a smoother answer and attempting to fix that. "I mean, it's not a good idea, she's mad at me for not giving Joe a chance. And you know how Santana goes all…"

"_Lima Heights_, I know." the brunette completes, suspecting this is not really why her friend doesn't want her on the phone with Santana. "It's okay, you can get it."

Quinn does as she is told and, before she can even say "hello", Santana's voice is inquiring her.

"Have you told her yet?"

"Told what?" the blonde asks defensively before noticing the Latina is not talking about her feelings for Rachel, but about Finn being headed to New York. "Oh… No. I wanted to, but I told you, I can't."

"Quinn, I'm sorry I was rude to you before, but Rachel needs to know Finn is coming or God knows what will happen when he knocks on her door out of nowhere."

"I know. You're right, and you were right before as well. I'm scared of both the things you said. That's why I can't do it. Don't laugh."

"Both things I said? What do you mean? The huge lesbian crush?"

"Um, yeah…"

"God! I knew it! I just didn't think you'd admit it that easily." Santana cheers, later regaining seriousness. "But if you really like her I suggest you to focus on what should make her happy right now. Like I'm guessing you did when you finally decided to go to her wedding. I know it's hard, but try. She needs your help."

"I know. I'll try. I promise."

"And Quinn, one last thing."

"What?"

"Good luck."

"Thanks."

"On your lesbian crush, I mean."

"Don't say it out loud!"

"Bye, Q." Santana chuckles.

"Bye." Quinn whispers, with a thin smile on her face.

* * *

"Are you guys okay now?" Rachel asks when she sees Quinn put her phone away.

"Yeah, we're fine."

"Nice." The brunette comments, in a slightly wry tone.

"Look, I… I'm sorry." Quinn confesses, seeing through her friend's irritation.

"For what exactly?" Rachel asks, still a bit cynical.

"For lying to you. About the phone call." the blonde owns up, even now struggling with her will to do so.

"You still haven't told me the truth, Quinn."

"Yeah… I'm sorry, Rach..."

"Come on, I know you're sorry! Just tell me what's going on!"

"Okay..." Quinn sighs. "Finn's coming to New York."

"What?"

"Finn-"

"I heard it, Quinn! I just can't believe you were hiding that from me! You're supposed to be my best friend! How could you possibly know that and not say anything for hours?! God! I trusted you!" Rachel exclaims, shaking her head in disbelief; and before she knows, tears are streaming down her face uncontrollably.

"Rach... I tried..." Quinn whispers hesitantly, trying to approach the brunette to make her stop crying.

"Just don't do this, okay?" Rachel reacts, crisply, raising her hand out. "When is he coming?"

"In a few hours now, I think."

"What else do you know about this? What does he want?"

"He wants to surprise you. Kurt knows and was going to tell you, but Finn made him promise not to."

"You see, Kurt was going to tell me! Because he's a _good friend_, unlike a _certain somebody_ who took _hours_ to do so!"

"Rachel, can you just stop this?! I tried! I did! Do you think it's easy? Do you think it's easy to see you happy after such a long time and then have to ruin this because of _Finn_?" Quinn bursts.

"I don't care if it's easy or not! This is about _me_! It's my right to know! I would've told you-" Rachel yells fervently.

"Maybe _you_ would've told me right away, Rachel. But in case you haven't noticed I'm _not_ you. If there is one thing that I am not, it's _you_."

"Is this supposed to be an insult?" the brunette frowns.

"Take it as you want. I'm leaving. Have a good time with Finn." Quinn says, categorically, walking to the apartment door in quick, determined steps.

"Quinn, no! Please don't leave, I'm..."

Rachel's pleading, accompanied by a desperate attempt to follow the blonde and stop her from leaving, is muffled by the door being shut right in front of her.

* * *

Quinn's eyes are sore and filled with tears that she's convinced not to let out. She strides toward the elevator, presses the _down_ button and waits impatiently for it to arrive, feeling an overwhelming weight on her shoulders, a deepening pain in her throat and the urgent need to be someplace else where she can break down. She doesn't want to leave, but a stronger part of her is desperate to go. Rachel clearly doesn't want her there anymore; she's ruined everything…

When the elevator finally reaches Rachel's floor, Quinn rushes into it. She presses the _ground level_ button with aggressiveness and strongly hits the wall with her back by accident while trying to lean her body against it.

"Fuck!" she shouts through the lump in her throat, completely taken by a growing frustration. "I hate you! Fuck you! Fuck you!"

Somewhere along the cursing, her voice falters and tears start running down her cheeks wildly. Absolute sadness, previously disguised by anger, is all over her face. Her head now burns with pain. She buries her face in her hands and crumbles in silence, except for occasional smothered crying sounds.

Quinn obviously doesn't hate Rachel. She can't even _pretend_ she does anymore. Not now that she'd gotten so close… Even though they are getting further and further at each second now.

If only she hadn't left... If only Rachel would understand… So many "_if only_"s, yet so little hope…

Sooner than expected, the elevator stops. Quinn lifts her face up in surprise and tries to pull herself together, without much success. The doors open slowly, revealing the image of the last person she would like to see right now.

The awkwardly tall figure of Finn Hudson analyses her with his tiny eyes in sheer perplexity.

"Quinn?"

"Hi Finn." she answers in a cold and distant voice, hoarse from all the crying and yelling. Her hazel eyes pierce his, still unquestionably intimidating in spite of being all teary. Finn notices her water-filled eyes, though, and wonders if she's been crying. When he's finally brought back from his thoughts, Quinn is already walking past him, trying to show as much composure as possible.

"Wait! You're just going to leave like that and not even talk to me? Like we weren't even friends?" Finn asks, turning his head to look at her.

"We haven't been friends for a long time, Finn, if you don't remember." Quinn answers harshly, looking back at him.

"What…? Why are you crying? And why are you even here?" he frowns, still confused.

"It's none of your business." she replies, turning her back to him again and opening the front door to the street. "Good luck with Rachel, by the way."

As she feels the cold wind blow on her face, the sun completely gone by now, she rushes to the nearest train station, hoping her ticket back to New Haven can be re-scheduled for today.


	6. Haunted

A/N: Hi!

So, the next two (initially two but can turn out to be more) chapters are based on Rachel and Quinn's after-fight situation. They're parallel and I was thinking about uploading them on the same day, but I couldn't finish Quinn's on time :( So this is Rachel's. And there's a Taylor Swift song reference, let's see if any fans can spot it!

I also wanted to say I absolutely love reading your reviews! You guys are wonderful! Thank you for the feedback! 3

And special thanks to my beloved giraffe friend (whose name is also Júlia) because she's been giving me great advice about this chapter and this story as a whole even though she doesn't ship Faberry :)

* * *

Rachel's legs falter and she collapses onto the floor, sliding down her front door. Untamed tears fall from her eyes. She feels her throat burn and her head spin and wishes she was strong enough to get up, open the door and plead Quinn to stay. But of course she isn't. How can she possibly be, knowing doing that will most likely never be enough given the blonde's seemingly unstrikable irritation?

With her ear incidentally glued to the door, Rachel hears strong steps in the corridor, some sort of metalic slam and unintelligible yells in Quinn's barely recognizable rage-filled voice. Moments later, she hears the elevator leaving. After that, the corridor is taken by nothing but silence.

That's it.

Quinn is gone.

The brunette remains shattered on the floor for some time, wrapping her knees with her arms, occasionally wiping away tears only to have new ones stream down her cheeks less than two seconds later, not ever wanting to move.

That is, until she hears the doorbell ring.

A gleam of hope crosses her eyes. She gets up and cleans her face; the lack of will to leave the floor is miraculously gone. Who can it be but Quinn? She twists the doorknob, radiating expectancy. The door opens, but, instead of the blonde, Rachel sees a much taller figure standing in front of her.

Her mouth opens in a mixture of surprise and disappointment. Of course it's Finn. Quinn would never come back, not after their fight. She doesn't even know why she ever thought she would.

Rachel wouldn't have been disappointed in having Finn there if this was two days before… In fact, this isn't a letdown because he's here; it's because _Quinn isn't_. She's daydreamed about this moment for the past two weeks, but all she can think about now whatsoever is how upset her friend must be. So much that she even wishes Finn had never decided to come. That feels quite wrong, but it's so bold and ingrained in her mind she can't disguise it or even try to make it go away.

Before Rachel can even say anything, she's being pressed against Finn's body in a hug.

"Finn", she whispers, trying to catch her breath after he's been holding her for the longest five seconds of her life.

"Rachel, God, I've missed you!" Finn exclaims, letting go of the hug right after and finally seeing her swollen eyes and red nose and having his expression changed to worry.

"Hey, have you been crying?"

"No… I'm alright." Rachel wipes her eyes, still trying to hide the traces of her breakdown.

"I can see it, Rach. Does it have anything to do with Quinn?" Finn frowns.

"What? What do you know about Quinn?"

"What's there to know? I met her downstairs, she wouldn't say why she was crying either."

"She was _crying_?" Rachel asks worriedly.

"Yes... What is all this about?"

"Oh, we… Had an argument."

"That's basically what happens every time you and Quinn are around each other. What was she even doing here?"

"That's not true... We're friends now, believe it or not. She just... Stopped by to check up on me and I asked her to stay for the weekend."

"Friends? Since when does she care?"

"She's nothing like you think she is, Finn."

"Oh wow." Finn frowns again. "Anyway, we haven't even talked about why I'm here."

"Okay, so let's talk about it."

"I want to join the army in Georgia. I told you I was going, but now for the first time in my life I feel like this is the one thing I have to do. My dream, you know?"

"Yeah... That's great, Finn." Rachel replies with a thin smile, trying to show as much positivity as she can.

"No… I mean, it's bad for us."

"I thought you set pretty clear when I got in that train that we were going to let the future lead us and hope we eventually turn out to be together. So, basically, I've been trying to forget that '_us_' for the past two weeks."

"But you didn't have to forget it."

"Look, I really did think I was going to marry you, Finn, and when I got here, I didn't even know what was going to happen. I assumed it was over and you'd already started the process of 'setting me free' because we haven't talked since then. Not even one e-mail or phone call or text or tweet! Nothing!"

"I just wanted what was best for you."

"I know you did, but we could've talked about this, we could've decided on something…"

"You'd never have agreed."

"You didn't try!"

"Rachel, what I'm saying is…"

"What you're saying is you have finally found your dream, Finn. And I have mine. And if by coming here you expect me to go on my knees and beg you to stay instead of going to the army, you're wasting your time. I'm not going to make you give up your life to be with me."

"But…"

"You can't complain! You did the same thing to me by sending me here!"

"And you said I was wrong! We can talk about it now! Please…"

"No! Serious damage has been made! I'm halfway through letting you go now! You can't just show up and ask me to take a million steps back and plead you to give up what you've taken so long to realize you wanted! That'd be bad for both of us."

"Are you breaking up with me?"

"If you're saying you hadn't already, yes, I am. You should go now, Finn. This is not a good time."

Finn is tempted to complain but he figures he doesn't want things to end badly.

"I… You're right, Rachel. I'm sorry." he gives in.

The brunette nods.

"One last hug?" Finn beckons.

Rachel can't help but smile and accept being wrapped by his arms once again.

"I'm sure the way you shine will put those Georgia stars to shame." he whispers, letting go of the hug and kissing her forehead tenderly. "And hey, maybe you should solve your stuff with Quinn. You both seem really shaken up."

"Yeah..."

"Good luck with that."

"Thank you, Finn."

"You're welcome, Rach. I'll just go now. I love you."

Next thing, Rachel's closing the door behind Finn and part of her finally feels in peace. At least now she knows they're on the same page and he's headed to something he really wants. At least now she knows he's going to be fine. The other part, though, screams Quinn's name and yearns for something to be said or done. She sits on her couch and checks her phone for texts or calls, but there's nothing. She clicks on Quinn's name and starts typing a message.

_Quinn, I hope you're not upset. I miss you._

She erases it. Duh. Of course Quinn's upset.

_Quinn, I'm sorry… I miss you. Please don't let this get to us._

Rachel never presses the "send" button. Instead, she tosses her phone over to the side, sighing and letting her back rest on the couch.

Suddenly, though, she hears a buzz on the other side of the living room. After looking for the source of the noise, she finds Quinn's phone on her table, lit up with a new text message.

_How did it go with Berry?_ - Santana

So, the blonde forgot her phone. That has to mean she's coming back to get it.

Rachel ponders on whether she should reply to Santana, knowing Quinn's passcode is the date she got early admission to Yale. She decides not to do it, since the blonde is already mad at her and she doesn't want things to get worse. Soon, the phone buzzes again.

_Q, you never leave your phone! Unless you and Rachel are making out you have no reason not to answer me!_

Rachel suppresses a smile. Santana's crazy.

She almost turns her head to the side seeking hazel affirmation in the amusement of the moment, but then she remembers Quinn is not there and her face falls again.

Later, Rachel lets herself fall on her bed. It's been such a tiring day... It's weird to think everything was going so well in the morning... Now she's alone in her apartment, lying there, missing the coziness of the previous night and smelling Quinn's piercing honey scent everywhere. She closes her eyes but all she sees is hazel ones smiling at her. And choppy blonde hair. And pink lips.

Making out with Quinn suddenly doesn't seem like such a bad idea.

Wait. What?

Rachel frowns and tries to block her thoughts because these ones _definitely shouldn't_ be there. She is unable to sleep for hours because of them, which is desperating because she's Rachel Berry, the star, and that obviously means her flawless voice needs to be preserved with an insanely strict sleep schedule.


	7. Runaway

A/N: Hey!

I've been pretty busy so I'm sorry for taking longer than expected to finish this chapter! Like I previously said, this is the Quinn-centered version of the after-fight situation. I also did a little background research on Yale (which was actually a fun thing to do), so, just to clarify: Davenport is one of the twelve residential colleges Yale students are randomly assigned to (and the one I picked for Quinn), "princess suites" are two-story penthouses a few lucky freshmen Davenport girls get to stay at (and obviously Quinn is one of them) and Welch Hall is the freshman dorm for Davenports. That isn't even necessary to know, I guess, but it'll probably just make understanding the story easier.

Also, the songs mentioned are _Distance _by Christina Perri, _Runaway_ by The Audition and _Little Bit _by Lykke Li. I'm thinking about sharing a playlist about this story (including the songs mentioned and others) soon, so look out for that.

I hope you like it :)

* * *

Using her typical glare and eyebrow raise with the train station employees, Quinn manages to re-schedule her tickets. Her train is due a couple of hours, so she roams through Grand Central station trying to find something that distracts her from her own mind, without much success.

After devouring a cinnamon pretzel and re-reading several pages of her beloved copy of _The Perks Of Being A Wallflower _by Stephen Chbosky, the blonde finally heads to where she's supposed to catch her train and gets in it, yearning for a chance to make her headache go away with sleep. She soon finds her seat next to the window and, after laying her bags on the empty space by her side, settles and waits for the train to depart.

Half an hour later, Quinn still hasn't fallen asleep, so she grabs her iPod, places the headphones over her head and puts it on shuffle, trying to sit back and relax.

_The sun is filling up the room_

_And I can hear you dreaming_

_Do you feel the way I do right now?_

Christina Perri.

The flashing image of Rachel muttering her name in her sleep earlier this morning comes to her mind.

Her heart beats faster after the first chorus and she starts feeling quite uneasy. Some part of her is eager to skip to the next song, but the one that wants to keep listening and see how far it goes wins her over.

_Please don't stand so close to me_

_I'm having trouble breathing_

_I'm afraid of what you'll see, right now_

_I'll give you everything I am_

_All my broken heartbeats_

_Until I know you'll understand_

So painfully accurate.

_So I'll make sure to keep my distance_

_Say I love you and you're not listening_

_How long can we keep this up, up, up?_

_Make sure to keep my distance_

_Say I love you and you're not listening_

_How long 'till we call this love, love, love?_

A tear eventually slides down her cheek. She wipes it away and notices the next song is starting.

_You like to drive me crazy_

_Admit it, baby_

_Don't you lie_

_You swore up and down_

_This time around you'll learn to compromise_

Okay. Sounds better.

_And I never thought you'd lie right through your eyes_

_Through your eyes_

_And just_

_You run away from everything,_

_It's all you've ever known about yourself_

_You just run away_

_Making the same mistakes_

_It's hard to love when I've been stuck in hell_

_And that's all I've ever known about myself_

That's it. She's had enough.

Quinn switches her iPod into a sleepytime Indie playlist that is supposedly safe. Lykke Li and M83 slowly drive her into unconsciousness, her thoughts gradually being replaced by lyrics and, later, nothing but utter darkness.

_Hands down_

_I'm too proud for love_

_But with eyes shut_

_It's you I'm thinking of_

_But how we move from A to B?_

_It can't be up to me_

_'Cause you don't know_

_Eye to eye_

_Thigh to thigh_

_I let go_

* * *

Quinn opens her eyes when she feels the train lights being turned on. She's in New Haven. There's no turning back now.

The blonde checks the time while she leaves the train. It's late. As she makes her way out of the train station, she spots a little photography shop that remains open in spite of that and decides to check it out given the fact that she doesn't have places to develop her films near Yale.

She learns her photographs should take about 30 minutes to be ready and the shop isn't closing for another hour since, according to the clerk, the demand is higher than the usual because "New Yorkers are crazy about photography" and her train wasn't the only one coming from Manhattan around that time. Given that, Quinn decides to take the opportunity to develop them. Taking her camera out of her bag and placing the film on the shop counter, she receives a piece of paper from the store clerk in order to claim her photos later.

While she waits, the girl wanders around the station, watching every person that walks hurriedly past her with curiosity. At some point, she reaches for her phone in her bag, in order to call Santana and tell her what's happened, but after seeking it for minutes, she finally acknowledges it's not there.

Great. She left it at Rachel's and is definitely not going back to New York anytime soon. She sighs impatiently and later settles for the idea of using her old phone - that still works perfectly fine and that she left at Yale - for a while. But now she obviously can't call Santana, so she's basically won over by plain boredom for the next 30 minutes.

When the time comes, Quinn heads back to the photography shop. The clerk hands her an envelope with her pictures and she pays him. After that, she walks out of the station looking for a taxi, because she isn't really into the idea of having a 20-minute walk this late.

The taxi is not hard to find and once she's in it and has informed the driver of her destination, she opens the envelope carefully.

"Oh." she whispers, taking her hand to her mouth, astonished by the sight of the photos she took of Rachel earlier. They're gorgeous. They're… Rachel's essence depicted. Shine all over, pretty hair, chocolate eyes, wonderful smile. She just wants to never stop looking at them again.

That's when it hits her.

She needs this. She needs the Rachel in the pictures more than anything. She needs to be around the aura that Rachel brings more than anything. Leaving was the stupidest thing she's done.

A tiny whimper involuntarily comes out of her mouth and she holds tears back.

"You alright?" the taxi driver asks.

"I'm…" her voice falters. "Yeah, yes, I am."

* * *

When they finally reach York Street, Quinn thanks the driver and pays the ride, leaving him the change. Before she even knows, she's sliding her legs out of the car and stepping on Yale grounds. After breathing in fresh air, the blonde rushes to the Davenport College building, where her dorm is located, holding on to her purse and the photographs of Rachel, wishing she could just teleport to her Princess Suite instead of having to walk through the halls and face her fellow students.

Once Quinn finds herself inside the Welch Hall, she keeps walking until she spots the most annoying person she's met so far at Yale: Josh, a guy who doesn't ever miss the chance to embarrass her by acting as if she was his girlfriend in front of his friends. Unfortunately, she doesn't have time to hide or walk the other way before he calls her over. Ugh.

"Hey baby!"

"Hi Josh."

"Where have you been, huh? Didn't see you around this weekend."

"I was visiting a friend in New York."

"Uhh, fancy Fabray! Was it really just a friend or have you been cheating on me?"

"Yes, she's just a friend, I can assure you of that. Not that I'll ever need to, because this thing you think you and I have doesn't exist."

"I see someone's mad today. Did you and your girlfriend break up, is that why?"

"She's _not_ my girlfriend." Quinn pauses. "_Never was. Never will be._"

"Alright, I'm sorry. I'll just let you have some time for yourself in your Princess Suite, since you're so upset... Unless you want me to be your prince tonight."

"Oh, believe me, that's the last thing I want."

Quinn turns her back on him and keeps walking, feeling bothered. When she finally gets to her suite, she drops her bags on the floor and collapses on to her bed, the pictures of Rachel still in her hands.

For a brief moment she stares idly at the ceiling, noticing her tiredness is gone since she slept in the train; but then she remembers what she wanted to do and couldn't at the time: call Santana. Soon, she's off her bed and seeking for her old phone in the drawers next to her bed. When she finds it, though, she learns it needs to be charged and decides to go to over to her laptop and Skype the Latina instead.

"Hi Q!" Santana smiles when she gets the video call.

"Hello baby unicorn!" Brittany waves, walking behind Santana in her usual bubbly mood. "Excuse me for a second, I'm going to feed Lord Tubbington some glitter."

Quinn can't help but smile a little.

"So, did you get my texts?" Santana asks.

"I left my phone in New York..."

"Oh. What happened, though? Why did you come back to Yale early? Does it have anything to do with the Finn thing? Did you tell Rachel?"

"Easy with the questions, you almost sound like… Rachel. Uh, yeah... I did tell her. And she got mad I hadn't done it before. So we argued and I left."

"But she didn't kick you out, did she?"

"No, I just..."

"Are you stupid?"

"Excuse me?"

"Rachel idolizes you, Quinn. Of course she would forgive you if you'd stayed. Why did you even leave?"

"She was holding it against me and I was mad and didn't want to stay around and see her crawl back to Finn. I figured she wouldn't want me there anymore either."

"Rachel will _always_ want you there. You slapped her in the face at prom and she said it was okay, Quinn. She could've stormed outside the bathroom, she could've never talked to you again, but she said it was _okay._ You started smoking and hanging out with weirdos behind the bleachers and she sought you and brought you back to that because she cares enough to know your rage doesn't define who you are, and to see through that."

Quinn remains silent for a moment, taking in everything she has just heard.

"Then why didn't she fight? Why didn't she open the door and make me stay?" She frowns.

"You're not the only one who sees Berry as a seven-headed monster. Maybe she was too upset to even do that, I don't know." Santana replies. "But what makes you think she's crawling back to Finn?"

"She still loves him and he obviously didn't go there just to say 'hello'."

"Wait, you know how that girl gets crazy obsessed with her ideas. What if the thought of getting him out of her mind is so enthralled in her berry-sized brain she doesn't want him back?"

The Latina has a point. Quinn sees it, but chooses not to give in.

"I don't believe -"

"Come on, Q, give yourself some hope!"

"It doesn't make any difference! So what if she and Finn aren't together? That doesn't change the fact that we had an argument and I'm here in New Haven now."

"But it means you can do something."

"Do _what_?"

"Call her. Text her. Go back and get your phone. I don't know."

"Santana, I just came back, I'm not leaving. I can't show up at her apartment and be like 'excuse me, I forgot my phone, okay, bye'."

"What do you _want_ to do, then?"

"I need to think. I just got here and I need some time to clear my head. I just felt like talking to someone."

"Okay, Q. Call me if you need any help."

"Thanks, S."

Santana blows her a kiss and the blonde smiles thinly at the now empty screen.

As soon as she leaves her desk, Quinn spots the pictures of Rachel scattered around her bed. One catches her attention - the one in which they're together - and she takes it in her hands.

Of all the photos she has ever taken, this is her favorite. Chocolate eyes shine unbelievably bright and Rachel's smile makes her want to put on one of her own in spite of their current situation. Quinn likes herself in this picture, too. Her beam clearly shows she could barely contain her happiness at that moment and there's something undeniably pretty about that. The contrast between the yellow lingering in the air and the intense green behind them is intriguing, too. It brings her heart to peace and ignites it at the same time, resurfacing her unanswered questions about her situation with Rachel.

Before she knows, she's hanging the photograph on the wall next to her bed and letting herself lean on her pillows, falling asleep sooner than expected.


	8. Panic Cord

A/N: Hi!

This chapter is initially about Quinn and Rachel's first days apart, but then the weekend happens and things change a little bit. I must say it's not one of my favorites, though. I hope you don't hate me for it haha. I'll try to update soon, I promise :)

* * *

Rachel's eyelids open slowly, sore from all the crying. Quinn is the first thing that comes to her mind, just like she was the last one on the night before, which feels weird. Is this just because they had a fight? Will it stop once their friendship settles back to normal? She doesn't know. And she doesn't care, to be honest. She just wants Quinn back. Given the fact that the blonde left her phone behind, she should probably call from Yale soon, asking to come get it. It's not like she won't give in and do that. Right?

Wrong. In New Haven, Quinn yawns, puts on a Yale sweater and goes to the Davenport food court get some coffee. She doesn't even bother looking in the mirror. She sure looks like a zombie anyway, and with previous experience she can tell quickly washing her face won't make any difference. She meets Josh one more time, blatantly cutting him off - not that he cares enough about that to stop bugging her. After drinking her coffee, she locks herself in her room, sits on her desk and tries to study, because she hasn't done that at all this weekend and her grades are supposed to be the highest, just like they were at McKinley. She doesn't learn much, though, as her mind keeps being dragged back to a certain tiny jewish brunette.

Rachel goes to the kitchen and makes coffee and waffles, even though she isn't hungry at all. There's no other way to spend her free time; her scheduled time for practice is in two hours. After breakfast, though, the brunette finds out her voice is hoarse and excuses herself from singing. Then, she basically spends the rest of the day near her cellphone, only to be disappointed: Quinn never calls.

It's not because she doesn't want to; it's the complete opposite. Quinn wants it too much, and is afraid calling will ruin any remains of friendship they have right now, because Rachel needs some time to breathe and get over their fallout before they speak again - or so she thinks.

* * *

A rough week ensues. Rachel's days are solely dedicated to NYADA, except not really. Whenever there's spare time she just stares at her phone waiting for a call that never comes and checking Quinn's profile on Facebook hoping for updates or signs that she's okay, almost forgetting she's too _Quinn Fabray_ for posting anything on Facebook.

Little does she know the blonde is the complete opposite of "okay", just like her. Quinn finds herself yearning for the berry-scented breaths she could feel when they were snuggled up in bed that Friday more often than she ever thought she would. She loses count of how many times she conference-chats with Santana and Brittany on Skype - who are now respectively in New York and in Ohio - and the topic of the conversation ends up being Rachel. The fact that Santana is in New York now, so close to Rachel, doesn't really mean Quinn allows her to ask the girl about Finn and these things, though. And, in spite of the fact that Santana is Santana and doesn't need Quinn's permission to do anything, she'd rather not interfere, because, having gone through a similar situation, she knows not having your limits respected by your own friends is an awful thing.

It is essentially due to those Skype sessions, though, that Rachel's Saturday turns out to be completely different from the rest of the week.

This Saturday, while she performs the daily activity of going on Facebook to check up on Quinn, she's surprised by the blonde's face on her timeline. It's a screen capture of one of the Skype video conferences, by Brittany, with a caption:

_Unholy Trinity skyping. Lebanese talks for the win._

Everybody knows "lebanese" equals "lesbian" in Brittany's language. So, there's that.

There are also a few comments.

_**Quinn Fabray: **__Britt, I don't mean to be demanding, but if you don't delete this RIGHT NOW I'm going to kidnap Lord Tubbington!_

_**Santana Lopez:**__ I see why you're doing this, Q. Grow a pair!_

_**Quinn Fabray: **__Will you please shut up and try to help me, Santana?_

_**Brittany S. Pierce: **__I support gay equality so I'm not deleting this as that would be just like homophobia._

_**Quinn Fabray: **__God. Thank you very much, Brittany._

_**Brittany S. Pierce: **__Bless._

Rachel frowns, quite confused with the girls' conversation. She clicks the picture, enlarging it, to see if she can spot something that shouldn't be there. Her look is inevitably directed at Quinn's image for a few seconds. She looks gorgeous, as always. Her cheeks are slightly flushed; short, choppy hair falls perfectly on her eyes and there's a thin smile on her face. It doesn't look very sincere, but then again it could be just the brunette's imagination. Or what she wants reality to be.

There doesn't seem to be any reason for Quinn to want Brittany to delete this picture, though. Is it possible that she's trying to hide something? And why would Santana tell her to "grow a pair" because of that?

Rachel observes every little detail this time, even the wall behind Quinn.

That's when she sees it.

Behind the blonde. Hanging on the wall. _Their_ _picture._

Rachel's mouth opens in surprise and she lets out a barely audible "oh my God".

_Quinn misses her._

That's what she's trying to hide.

And that's all it takes for Rachel to pack a few clothes, grab the train ticket to New Haven the blonde has given her and leave.

* * *

"Shut up." Quinn mutters when she hears Josh beginning to voice what's probably his millionth obnoxious remark since the day they first met. It's been like this for the whole week, but the fact that it's Saturday makes it worse, because she can't make up an excuse about having class.

He becomes silent for a second.

"Make me."

And despite her full-on hatred towards this guy, she does. Because she's up to anything to forget Rachel as soon as possible. Because she's eager to discount all her anger and sadness and frustration on something and Josh is not that bad of an option, muscle-wise and popularity-wise. It's her opportunity to climb the social ladder at Yale and disguise her true issues, so, being Quinn Fabray, she takes it, furiously crashing into his lips.


	9. Drunk

A/N: Hey!

First of all, I want to thank you guys so much for sticking around after that chapter lol. Really though, it means the world to me that people care about this story enough to keep on reading and reviewing and wanting more. Thank you! :)

I also owe special thanks to Luíza (the drunk cat who loves Kate Hudson), because she's _always_ ridiculously supportive and sweet; Júlia (the giraffe) again, because she continues giving me wonderful advice; & Tuti (the panda), because she helped me a lot with this chapter in particular haha.

Okay, now that I'm done with the sappiness, let's talk about this chapter. It has a way nicer ending than the first one. So, if you don't like the beginning, be sure to read it until the end because it's (very) worth it. That's all I'm going to say. Enjoy!

* * *

After Quinn finally breaks away from Josh's lips, he makes some stupid comment she doesn't even pay attention to and asks her out on (what he calls) a date. She agrees to anything as long as she's not left on her own to think about Rachel (and the ridiculously stupid thing she has just done).

Before she knows, she's sitting on a bar she's never seen in her life, with an empty bottle of vodka in front of her.

Quinn hears Josh go on and on about lots of things, including how he knew she'd never resist him for too long. She nods and agrees to everything, not even knowing why she's doing this and constantly bringing another bottle to her mouth. She loses count of how many times the bartender brings them a new one - not that she ever really tried to count.

When the blonde is laughing of things she'd never find funny and her sight is starting to get blurry, she hears Josh's voice ask something.

"Hey, do you wanna get out of here?"

She nods fervently and gets up from the bar stool, feeling a little dizzy. He leads her out of the joint and into his car - she doesn't even remember that's how they got there in the first place. Soon, they're in Yale grounds.

"Princess suite?" Josh asks.

Quinn nods again and her attempt to say "yeah" surprises her because her voice sounds higher than the usual.

He holds her hand and they run to the Davenport dorm, laughing hysterically as they stumble on basically everything they find on their way there, because neither of them is sober enough to avoid obstacles or feel embarrassed by tripping on them.

Quinn hears some students around them giggling but she doesn't really care about anything - not even Josh, in fact. When they reach her princess suite, she lets herself fall flat on her bed. The guy stands in front of her, grabbing her hands and pulling her closer.

"Come here, sleepy."

She lets herself be pulled, with a lazy smile on her face. When they're close enough, she stands on her feet so they're face to face. Everything's spinning now, so Quinn can't really see much before Josh presses his lips to hers again. He grasps strands of her hair and she holds on to his shirt as they kiss fiercely, the smell of alcohol lingering in the air.

At some point, Quinn feels Josh start kissing her neck and she throws her head back to allow him access, closing her eyes.

Suddenly, they hear a knock on the door.

The blonde opens her eyes.

"Ignore it." Josh whispers, in between kisses.

"Yeah." She replies, her voice sounding raspy, still higher than the usual.

"Quinn?" She hears Rachel's voice ask from the other side of the door and is startled once again, now even more intensely.

No. She's drunk. Her ears are tricking her. It's probably just her roomate. It's not Rachel. It can't be Rachel.

Quinn keeps her decision to ignore it.

Josh trails kisses from her neck to her jaw and briefly breaks away.

"Wait, is that your girlfriend or something?"

"Just keep going..."

Quinn throws herself on the bed and pulls him with her. They start kissing again and eager hands grasp hair and clothes and skin.

Rachel hesitantly twists the doorknob, before even thinking this might be too intrusive.

"Quinn?!" She exclaims, horrified at the sight of Quinn and Josh making out and the guy practically straddling the blonde.

"Uhm…" Quinn responds, still refusing to believe the voice she could hear was Rachel's and trying to make it go away.

On the verge of leaving immediately not knowing where to hide and cry - even though she doesn't know exactly why she suddenly feels like crying - Rachel notices Quinn looks too submissive and needy. There's definitely something wrong about this. There's also the smell in the air... Vodka?

"Hey! Stop it, can't you see she's drunk?!" she yells towards Josh.

Josh leaves Quinn's neck and looks at Rachel.

"What the fuck?! Who are you?!"

"Who are _you?!_"

"...Rach?" Quinn whispers, finally acknowledging the presence of the brunette as reality instead of her ears tricking her, because now she sees her as well. A bit blurry, but she does.

"You know this freak?!" Josh turns to Quinn.

"Yes, _this freak_ is her _best friend_. Now get out of here."

"Last time I checked this was her bedroom and I'm pretty sure she _wanted_ me to come here."

"You mean after you endrunkened her!" Rachel exclaims as she pulls Josh over to the edge of the bed, using all her strenght.

"Wow, whatever, cockblocker! I'm off!" He says as he gets up, gets rid of Rachel's grip on his arms and walks out the room in furious steps.

A tense silence takes place until the moment Quinn breaks it with a lazy complaint.

"Hey, I was enjoying that!"

"No, you weren't! He was taking advantage of you!"

"Uh..."

"Quinn, why'd you drink so much? Are you sure you're okay?" She sits in front of the blonde on the bed, grabbing one of her hands and holding it on her own. It's warm and a bit sweaty.

"Why do you care?"

"You were the one who walked out on me. I never stopped caring." She replies, playing with Quinn's fingers.

The blonde breathes in, feeling Rachel's sweet scent burning in her lungs. Oh, how she's missed it… And the brunette's hands, soft as silk, caressing hers gently… Making her melt inside.

"I'm sorry…"

"No, _I_'m sorry for blaming you. I understand why you were hesitant to tell me and I don't expect you to forgive me, but I would very much appreciate it if you…"

"Rachel, you're good. I was the one who left." Quinn's words sound impatient and as if she was about to fall asleep at any second now. "How's Finn?" She asks, trying to pull off her signature ironic smile without success.

"We broke up for real this time."

"You what?" Quinn smiles faintly again.

"We broke up. For real. Before you ask how I'm doing, even though I doubt you will since you're so intoxicated, I must say I was the one who made the decision and I'm just-"

"Can you just shut up?" Quinn says as she reaches out for Rachel's arms, trying to pull her closer.

Rachel holds in her confusion in silence at first, but when the blonde reaches kissing distance after squirming clumsily on her bed, she just can't anymore.

"Quinn, what are you doing?!"

"I... I'm in love with you."

It's the first time tonight that Quinn's words towards Rachel are as bold as they usually are.

Rachel stares at her, wide-eyed. So, that's what it all led up to? From showing up at her door to leaving and now meeting again at this situation...? Vague hazel stares into her in the most vulnerable way now, confessing what her ever-present consciousness never allowed her to. And Rachel can't deny it's the most beautiful thing in the world.

Wait, no. This can't be true.

"Quinn, you're drunk!" She exclaims, trying to get away.

"Rach, just..."

"I..." She's a movement away from getting up from the bed now.

"Just come back here. Please."

What if she's just saying this because she's drunk and needy?

Or worse, what if she isn't?

The thought of Quinn being in love with her is heartwarming and ridiculously confusing at the same time. It's just... Too much.

Regretting her sudden roughness, she gets a little closer and wraps Quinn's hand in hers one more time.

"Quinn, I'm sorry, I just can't…"

"Why...?"

"I… You need some rest, okay?"

Quinn leans forward and rests her head on Rachel's shoulder.

"You're boring."

Rachel can't help but let out an affected smile.

"Sorry."

"Sing me to sleep?"

"I don't think…"

"Rachel... Please."

"Okay..."

Rachel is about to start singing the first song that comes to her mind when Quinn takes hold of one of her hands and places it on her head, silently begging the brunette to run her fingers through her hair until she falls asleep, in addition to the singing.

Rachel plays along and ends up wishing she could to this forever.

_"You're so hypnotizing_

_You've got me laughing while I sing,_

_You've got me smiling in my sleep._

_I can see this unraveling_

_Your love is where I'm falling_

_But please don't catch me._"

Quinn closes her eyes and lets a lazy smile take her face when she recognizes the song_._

"_See this heart?_

_Won't settle down_

_Like a child running scared from a clown_

_I'm terrified of what you'll do_

_My stomach screams just when I look at you"_

Rachel is, indeed, terrified. Her mind won't stop replaying Quinn's confession, wondering if it was really true, and her heart beats faster and faster as her fingers get graciously tangled in golden strands.

"_Run far away_

_So I can breathe_

_Even though you're far from suffocating me_

_I can't set my hopes too high_

_'Cause every hello ends with a goodbye"_

The brunette's voice, sounding flawless to Quinn's ears, makes the blonde slowly drift into sleep. Part of her wants to stay awake and enjoy every second of Rachel's presence, but the part who drank countless bottles of vodka is a thousand times stronger in comparison to that one.

Rachel watches Quinn fall asleep attentively. She really is stunning. There's something about the way her short, glossy hair falls perfectly on her forehead, the way her sleek skin presses against her own and how her head lays peacefully on Rachel's shoulder that makes the singer never want to leave.

And so she doesn't. She bears with the smell of alcohol in the air and her uncomfortable sitting position until she finally gives in to sleep right before dawn.

Because Quinn is worth every second of that.


	10. Distance

A/N: Hi!

I have to say his chapter is definitely not one of my favorites. The beginning is sort of cute but then it's not anymore :( It's also pretty short. I'm sorry. Oh, and despite the ending, I promise things will get better soon.

* * *

Quinn's sore eyelids open slowly. Her eyes are sensible to the light, her vision is still quite blurry and her head feels obnoxiously heavy.

Hangover. Great.

She squirms a little, trying not to make her head hurt again, and feels her cheek brush against the soft skin of the body she's using as her pillow.

Wait.

_...Soft skin? Body?_

Quinn lifts herself from her bed abruptly, forgetting her headache for a second and almost whimpering in pain when she's reminded of it.

Right in front of her, sleeping on her bed, is no one other than Rachel.

The girl's cheeks are flushed and her mouth is halfway open, inhaling and exhaling peacefully. Apparently, Quinn spent the night laying on her belly, which is partially revealed by a slightly lifted up shirt, and that is a thought the blonde is still trying to sink in.

As soon as Quinn realizes she's been staring at the beauty in front of her for too long while trying to absorb this moment, she converts into trying to remember what happened on the night before in order to understand why she woke up in this position.

Nothing but vague flashings come to her mind. Lots of kissing… Josh. Vodka. Rachel showing up out of nowhere and yelling at him… And the brunette's voice singing… _You're so hypnotizing, you've got me laughing while I sing, you've got me smiling in my sleep…_ Demi Lovato? Very Rachel-like. She even chose to sing _The Climb_ by Miley Cyrus on Glee club once...

Quinn can't remember much besides that, just Rachel looking very concerned about her and their hands intertwined at some point... Was it possible that they'd actually...? No. God. No. Not while she was drunk.

Millions of questions arise, and their lingering inside the blonde's mind doesn't last too long; Rachel's eyes begin to open and she whispers "hey" in a husky morning voice and a half smile, which is something Quinn wants to replay in her mind forever.

"Hi." She can't help but smile back, shyly.

"So, are you okay now?"

"I… Yeah, I just have a terrible headache." Quinn says, frowning. "What happened?" There's a pause. "Did we...?"

"God, Quinn, were you so drunk you don't you remember? I got here and kicked that guy taking advantage of you out." She pauses and gulps as discreetly as she can. "Then we... Talked."

"What do you mean, _talked_?"

"Well… We both apologized for what happened… And I told you I really broke up with Finn..."

"Oh my God, what? You broke up with Finn?"

"Yeah…"

"Are you... Okay?"

"Yes, Quinn... Just don't worry about me, really."

"If you say so... But anyway, how did we go from that to me lying on your belly?"

"Well, you, uhm, sort of... Tried to kiss me. And said you were... In love with me."

Quinn's face turns pale and her mouth falls open. She's about to start vomiting words when Rachel takes her cue to do so.

"I didn't let you do anything, before you ask, because I thought you were just being needy due to your intoxicated state. I just sang you to sleep. And you fell asleep on my shoulder, so I don't really know how you ended up on my belly... That's a rather interesting qu-"

"Rachel, oh my God, I'm so sorry, I didn't…" Quinn interrupts her, babbling, still looking mortified.

"Yeah, you didn't mean any of that, I know. It's okay." Rachel smiles thinly.

Of course she meant it. Of course she meant every single word of it.

In fact, she's so tired of running away from things that she is determined to tell the truth this time.

"I actually -"

The thought of a lucid Quinn telling her she really is in love with her is way too scary for Rachel and she doesn't even know why. Soon enough, she's intercepting the blonde.

"Look, Quinn, we're good. I really have to go now, okay?" she straightens her eyes and gets up from the bed.

"Wait, why did you come here in the first place?"

"I just needed to know you were okay… Make sure _we_ were okay..." the brunette replies, looking for Quinn's cellphone in her bag. "And also give you _this_.", she raises the phone in the air when she finally finds it.

"Rach, thank you, I…"

"It's no problem, Quinn. I really need to go, though! See you!", Rachel says, throwing Quinn's cellphone on her bed and swiftly storming outside the door.

"…need to give you something too."

Quinn can't even process what's just happened until it's too late to stop Rachel. She walks to the door and looks out to the hallway; no sign of the brunette anymore.

This is pathetic.

She looks over to the envelope with the pictures from their day in New York laying on her desk. Inside, there's a second copy of their picture that was supposedly Rachel's since she asked for one.

The worst part is that she really tried this time.

Maybe Rachel just doesn't care enough. Or at all.

Giving up is out of question. So is living with this gigantic lump on her throat, but she doesn't have much of a choice.

Her heavy head drags her back to bed, but she doesn't fall asleep again. She just lays there, taking in everything that's just happened. Blaming herself for getting drunk and talking too much. Even though this time she knows it's not entirely her fault.

* * *

Rachel's never been the type of girl who runs away from things. She's always been the one who steps forward. But there was something about Quinn's hazel orbs staring into her so intensely that was terrifying, and in a totally different type of terrifying from the blonde's HBIC glares at McKinley back in the day.

The brunette takes hurried steps on her way out of the building. When she finally walks past its heavy wooden doors, she realizes she's completely lost. She has absolutely nowhere to go and hasn't even undergone her very necessary two-hour beauty ritual this morning.

All because of the complex person that Quinn is. Or the complex things she makes her feel.

Yes. Rachel can't pretend there's nothing going on anymore. Quinn makes her feel things. Quinn makes her feel a lot of things. From frustration to peace to fear to... Love? Yes, she definitely has feelings for Quinn.

And she's now standing outside the blonde's dorm building, tempted to run back to where she was and jump on the girl's arms.

Just tempted, though.

Said feelings still scare her.

It's not as simple as Finn. It's a girl. She's never liked girls before. Not that she has a problem with that. Of course she doesn't. Raised by two gay dads, she's always been ready to embrace any homosexual feelings that came her way. It's just that… It's not any girl. It's Quinn Fabray. Who she thought she was hated by since forever. Who she idolized since forever.

Rachel needs to get away and clear her mind. Breaking up with Finn might have made her extra sentimental and needy. She's not in love with Quinn. She can't be.

That's why she gets a taxi to the train station and catches the first train back to New York. She can't afford to lose her newfound best friend to weird gay emotions she's not even sure of.

Rachel unlocks her apartment's front door and sees herself in her lonely, cold living room once again, hopelessly trying to convince herself that this is all for a good cause.

Little does she know it means losing Quinn anyway.


	11. State of Grace

A/N: Hi!

So, I got a review saying Rachel was made to look like the "bad guy" and I really never meant to do that, I'm sorry. Neither of them is supposed to be the "bad guy", since they _both_ ran away and made mistakes. The "bad guy" is the denial of their feelings for each other.

Oh, things get happier in this chapter! The next one will most likely be the last :')

* * *

The next two months aren't exactly Quinn and Rachel's best.

The two girls don't talk at all. They sometimes stare at their phones, waiting for texts from each other, but neither has the initiative to press send after typing ridiculously long heartfelt messages, ever.

Rachel immerses herself in NYADA activities, such as practicing her singing and dancing like crazy and buttering up her teachers (without success, because Cassandra July is Cassandra July), pretending - even to herself - that there's absolutely nothing wrong. She sometimes talks to Kurt, who is planning on moving to New York some time in the future, but refuses to ever mention Quinn's name when he says her voice sounds ragged, making up the excuse that NYADA is overwhelming. There's an itch for telling him everything like she always does, but Rachel never lets it take over her will to ignore what's going on. She also often revisits that spot in Central Park where Quinn said she looked beautiful under the sunlight, and where they took that picture she's never gotten hold of… It's just peaceful. Her little taste of heaven. _Their_ little taste of heaven.

Quinn soon finds out she can't handle Josh's obnoxiousness without being drunk. Every time she passes by him in the halls she hears him whisper things about how "she started making out with her lesbian girlfriend in front of him" to his friends, which is obviously not true, even though she kind of wishes it was. Her picture with Rachel is still on the wall, the brunette's copy stored in a drawer. Maybe Rachel does care after all… Maybe she cares too much - as much as she does - and that's what ruined them. Anyway, she can't dwell herself in hope for that, because, after all, they're apart and, caring or not caring, it doesn't make any difference now. Therefore, Quinn starts dedicating herself almost entirely to Yale and turns back to skyping with Santana and Brittany, swiftly changing the subject or finding a reason to log off whenever Rachel is brought up in their conversations.

But Santana - being who she is - breaks that wall at some point.

"Hey Q, I was talking to Britt the other day and maybe you guys could come and visit soon?"

"No, thanks, New York isn't exactly my thing."

"But it's so close to New Haven!" Brittany complains.

"I know, Britt, but I really…"

"Come on, Quinn, I know you love New York! Just get over that Rachel thing, we need an Unholy Trinity reunion!" The Latina insists.

That hits Quinn in the nerve.

"This is not because of -! Okay, okay… I'm going."

"Good." Santana grins. "You can stay at my place. Is next weekend okay for you?"

"Yeah, it's not like I have a social life here, especially now that everyone thinks I… Uh... Never mind."

"Yay! Next weekend! Should I bring Lord Tubbington?"

"No, Britt, I think it'll be better if he stays in Ohio." Santana replies.

"Yeah, it's not like you have cat tea to give him anyway."

Santana smiles at Brittany's nonsense and Quinn feels like she's interrupting the girls' little moment. And that reminds her of Rachel. Everything reminds her of Rachel, actually.

"So... I should go now. See you guys next weekend."

"Bye Q!"

"See you!"

When the blonde logs off and throws her laptop aside, the significance of what she's just agreed to do comes down on her.

New York. Next weekend. New York. Rachel.

No. It's a big city. There's not a chance in hell that an accidental encounter might happen. Unless it's not accidental. Would Santana plot anything regarding her relationship with Rachel? Would she go _that_ far? She would. Then again, the fact that it's possible doesn't mean it's going to happen… Right?

* * *

On Friday, Quinn catches a train to New York. When she arrives, she finds Santana and Brittany waiting for her at the station. Brittany smiles warmly and pulls her into a hug. Santana does the same, something Quinn's honestly still not used to seeing - but apparently it's the effect of Brittany being around.

Soon, the three girls make their way to Santana's apartment in the Lower East Side. As they walk down the streets, the New York aura and the fresh air hitting Quinn's skin make memories of her weekend with Rachel strike back with full force. She can almost hear her laughing beside her. She can almost see the chocolate eyes. The shiny hair. The rosy cheeks.

Except she can't.

"We're here." Santana informs, driving Quinn out of her zoned out state, pointing at glass doors.

"Looks pretty." Brittany says.

The girls walk in, greet the doorman and enter an old elevator. Santana presses her floor number and they go up.

Once they're there, the Latina opens the door to her apartment and the trio walks in.

"Nice place." Quinn compliments, still a bit struck with her sudden flashbacks.

"This is awesome! And I actually could've brought Lord Tubbington! There's no cat tea, but he loves eating curtains."

Santana smiles. Quinn frowns.

"Q, this is your room", she says as she points to a door. "And this is ours." She points to another door, looking over to Brittany. "Do you guys want to go out for dinner or should we just order in?"

Order in… Quinn ordered in with Rachel in the last time she was in New York. She sighs.

"I think I'm just going to bed, I'm really tired. You guys can go out without me if you want. Sorry."

"Okay, Q. Just remember we're having a walk in Central Park tomorrow morning and you can't skip that."

"Sure. Good night."

* * *

Their next morning starts with iced coffee at Starbucks, which, for Quinn, triggers the revival of even more memories with Rachel. Trying to shake it all off her mind, she lets herself be dragged along to Central Park right after, which certainly doesn't help either.

Santana and Brittany talk excitedly about things Quinn can't discern because she's too busy paying attention to the sight around them. Or to the flashbacks it evokes in the back of her mind. Each step makes the feeling of familiarity to this scenery increase. But it's Central Park. It's huge. There's no way this is where Rachel brought her...

But then she sees it. The little whimsical restaurant with the waiter. She looks around, trying to find something that convinces her that this is not where she came two months ago, but she can't. Everything around her screams Rachel's name. Everything. The bright green grass, the clear sky, kids running, Rachel...

_Rachel?_

Yes. Rachel. Lying on the grass, not very far from her. Shiny black hair and clothes only Rachel Berry would wear. Of course it's Rachel. Quinn stops walking, earning concerned looks from Brittany and Santana, having a hard time believing this is not a mirage.

"Will you girls excuse me for a second?" She says, not even looking to their faces, starting to walk on the girl's direction.

* * *

_Time stands still_

_Beauty in all she is_

_I will be brave_

_I will not let anything take away_

_What's standing in front of me_

_Every breath_

_Every hour has come to this_

_One step clo-ser_

* * *

It's sunny and fresh outside and Rachel is paying her now weekly visit to their little spot at the Great Lawn. She lies there with her eyes closed, blocking thoughts about Quinn like she's learned to do so efficiently in the last couple of months.

That is, until she feels a shadow above her. Who dares break her contact with the sun?

She opens her eyes, frowning, and her expression changes completely when she sees _her_.

_Quinn._

The brunette lifts her head, using her elbows for support. Nothing comes out of her mouth at her first attempt on speaking.

"Q-Quinn?" she whispers weakly at the second one.

"Hi..." Quinn replies. "How are you, Rach?" she smiles bluntly.

The blonde's cheeks starting to flush, her choppy hair, still short but longer than the last time they met, the shy smile…

"I missed you."

"I missed you too."

After that, there's an almost imperceptible lack of words in which they simply exchange a prolonged look taking in the eyes they've been yearning to see for the last two months.

No fear, no sadness, no frustration, no hesitation, nothing. Just Quinn and Rachel - hazel and chocolate, honey and berries - in perfect syntony, for the first time in so long.

Quinn graciously sits down next to the brunette, never leaving her eyes.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Yeah?"

"Why did you leave that day?"

Rachel knows exactly what she's talking about. For a moment, she considers lying… Not letting Quinn see through her.

"I told you I had things to..."

But then she's reminded by the look on Quinn's face that the last time she did this they went two months without talking.

"I was scared."

"Scared of what?"

"I don't know" Rachel cries, her voice starting to tremble and her head lowering in embarrassment.

Rachel was always the brutally honest, straight-forward girl, and now she was sitting there, too scared to let her walls down; walls she didn't even know she had before Quinn.

The blonde reaches out for her arm and her soft touch slowly travels all the way down to Rachel's shaking hands.

"Look, I'm sorry. It's okay, you don't need to..."

"No, it's not, Quinn! I'm tired of pretending it is!" The brunette's voice falters.

"Wait, I didn't mean to..."

"I love you, Quinn." Rachel says, silencing the blonde and leaving her astonished. "I'm in love with you and I left because I was too stupid to admit I was developing feelings for you back then even though I knew you were -"

"Rachel." The brunette is silenced by Quinn's intonation of her name as well as the girl's welled up hazel orbs looking into her. "I'm the stupid one here. I left when things got ugly and I made out with someone I didn't even like to forget you. Don't ever blame yourself for these two months. You had every right to leave like that. You had every right not to like me for being such an idiot."

Rachel's head remains lowered, but her eyes now look up to Quinn's face not knowing what to say. The blonde is right.

Quinn sighs after struggling with her words and her eyes shift until they finally meet Rachel's again. Once again, they share one of their wordless moments, perfectly understanding each other in spite of the silence.

"You're not stupid. I'd never… Not like you." Rachel finally whispers. "I just hope it's not too late."

Quinn leans in, slowly closing the distance between them. Her nose tenderly brushes Rachel's.

"I love you." the blonde says, letting out her minty breath on the brunette's mouth as she waits for permission to proceed. "It'll never be too late."

Rachel is paralyzed for a few seconds, but then she lets go of what she's been holding back - as does Quinn - and tilts her head forward, making their lips graze.

The slight touch of lips that the kiss initially is grows into a long and steady frenzy. Hands clasp hair and skin and clothes; barely audible involuntary whimpers come out in sync along with their breaths as if every second is part of an incredibly harmonized symphony.

That's about when they hear a familiar ragging voice.

"This is disgusting. No sex in the park, please, gay Barbie and Jew!"

Quinn smiles into the kiss and bites the brunette's lower lip, slowly letting go. Once Rachel is out of the trance Quinn's just brought her into with the smile and the lip biting, she widens her eyes and turns to the source of the interruption.

"Santana? Brittany? What are you doing here?"

"You know I always jog here. Also, I was the one who brought your girlfriend." Santana replies.

"I'm just hanging with my girl." Brittany says, motioning a gangster hand gesture.

"Oh, I…"

"It's okay, relax. I brought her because I wanted you guys to figure your shit out." The Latina grins. "Just get a room." She turns away and pulls Brittany with her.

"Of course she knew you'd be here all along." Quinn says with a loving smile, turning back to Rachel.

The brunette gives her a confused look. Quinn's smile is the sweetest she's ever seen, but she really doesn't understand what's going on.

"Santana basically plotted for us to be together." The blonde explains.

"Well, thank you, Santana." Rachel says goofily, literally thanking the air, since the Latina is far gone.

"God, Berry, you're crazy." Quinn banters.

"Shut up! Let's just go to my place before Santana comes back or that waiter comes around and freaks out over the fact that he knew it all along."

"_You_ shut up, midget."

Both of them laugh and Quinn gets up from the grass, pulling Rachel with her.

Soon, they're on their way to the brunette's apartment, hands intertwined, eyes locked to each other.

* * *

_And I never saw you coming._

_And I'll never be the same._

_This is a state of grace._

_This is the worthwhile fight._

_Love is a ruthless game_

_Unless you play it good and right._


	12. A Thousand Years

A/N: Hi!

Sorry for taking so long to update. Like I said before, this is the last chapter of the story, so I've been working extra hard in it. I'll probably post a playlist later, though. Anyway, I want to thank every single one of you who read the whole thing (or even just one chapter), left reviews and everything. I'm definitely going to miss writing this and seeing you guys' feedback.

I hope you all have an amazing 2013! :)

* * *

Rachel inserts her key in the doorknob and finds herself in her apartment with Quinn, who looks around reminiscing the last time she was there.

"So, what do you want to do?" Rachel asks, interrupting her.

"Oh, wait, I have something for you." Quinn replies, suddenly reminded of their photograph, starting to look for it in her purse.

Rachel stares at her in curiosity while waiting and her eyes widen when Quinn brings the picture out of her bag.

"Found it!" The blonde smiles, handing it to Rachel. "I tried to give you this when you came over to Yale but you left before I could-"

"Oh my God, I can't believe you actually remembered to print me a copy! Thank you so much!" Rachel enthuses, pulling Quinn in for a hug.

Their arms remain wrapped around each other for some time and at some point Rachel starts to nuzzle the crook of Quinn's neck. Her nuzzles grow into small pecks and Quinn shivers at each one of them, brushing Rachel's brown locks with her hand.

Suddenly, Rachel's cellphone rings. They both smile - Rachel apologetically and Quinn acquiescently - and pull away from their embrace.

"Hello?" The brunette answers the phone.

"Hi Berry, it's Santana. I hope I'm not interrupting you guys screwing like bunnies, but Britt and I want to know what you guys are doing for lunch. Unless it includes sex in the kitchen counter."

Rachel's face turns red and Quinn gives her a confused look.

"No, sorry to break it down to you, but we actually aren't engaging in any type of sexual activity at the moment. And I have no idea what we're doing for lunch, but I think we'll stay in, since we just got to my place."

"_At the moment._ Wanky. Anyway, I'm having lunch with Britt here at my apartment and you guys can come over if you want, but like you said, you'll probably stay there, so whatever."

"Yeah. Well, we'll call if we decide to turn up."

"Okay. Bye."

"Bye, Santana."

Rachel hangs up the phone with blushy cheeks and turns to Quinn, who still has the confused look on her face.

"Do you wanna go have lunch at Santana's or should we stay and try to cook something?"

"Are you kidding me? Santana cooking? Let's just stay here, for God's sake." Quinn replies, laughing.

"That's what I thought. Come on." Rachel smiles and runs to the kitchen, followed by the blonde.

* * *

After hours of giggles, burnt food due to mutual distraction and dance parties to Taylor Swift's "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" and every other dance-y song on the radio, the two girls finally manage to get something ready. Mac 'n cheese.

"We're pathetic, oh my God. Even Santana could've done better." Quinn laughs, after jumping up and down and hugging Rachel while celebrating their "accomplishment".

"That's why I love us." the brunette replies, earning a blush and a shy smile from the other girl.

They proceed to eating and talking about NYADA, Yale and the last two months, giggling every once in a while and sharing looks that convey just how much they missed each other.

"So… I never really apologized… You know, for calling you Man-Hands and everything back at McKinley." Quinn utters, hesitantly, as soon as they're done with the food.

"Quinn, please! I know we're both over that." Rachel says, smiling.

"We may be, but I'm just really sorry I ever called you that, Rach. I mean… You didn't deserve it." Quinn looks down and it's not hard to tell this is a tough subject to resurface after so long.

"Hey, look at me." Rachel asks, lifting the blonde's chin with her hand and not proceeding until their eyes meet. "It's okay. We're okay now. You were automatically forgiven since we became 'kind of friends'."

Quinn caresses Rachel's hand gently holding her chin up and they remain in silence for a few minutes - a silence that doesn't bother them at all - until the blonde breaks it.

"I know this is random, but do you remember when I slept over and you had this dream you didn't want me to know about?"

"Um… Yeah."

"So, will you tell me now?"

"Okay… Finn was disappearing, sort of. And I was trying to call out his name but nothing came out of my mouth…" Rachel sees Quinn make a face and stops talking about the dream for a second. "Hey, you asked for it, didn't you?"

"Yeah, okay, sorry. Go on."

"And then there was this really intense beam of light and you were_ everywhere. _Everything was light-hearted and happy and I'm pretty sure I could feel myself smiling in my sleep..."

"Are you changing it just to make me happy now?"

"Quinn! Of course not! Anyway, after that, darkness slowly took over again and all I could say to you was that I was sorry. And that was about when you woke me up with your weird hovering over me."

"I guess that explains why you said 'Finn', 'Quinn' and 'sorry' while sleeping."

"I suppose it does."

"It also tells your subconscious likes me… _A lot._"

"Actually… It's not just my subconscious."

Their heads move a few inches closer. Shortly, their lips are touching again, finally continuing what they stopped due to Santana's call earlier.

It's their second kiss, and even though it starts as hesitant and chaste as the first, it turns into a much wilder one. Their movements become desperate, clingy, as if all they want - all they need - is each other. Actually, not just "as if". All they want and need is each other, literally. Lips run through mouth and neck and hands grasp hair and clothes eagerly.

At some point, Quinn lifts Rachel's legs up and presses her against the first wall she sees. The brunette moans against her mouth and Quinn leads them to the main bedroom, inevitably stumbling on every wall and piece of furniture in the apartment.

Before Rachel knows it, she finds herself sitting down on her bed and spots Quinn standing at the edge, watching her attentively with undecipherable hazel eyes.

"Rach, are you sure...?"

"Yes, just please come here, we don't have to do anything you don't want to do." she beckons.

"Of course I want everything you want. I just want to make sure we're both ready." Quinn says, moving closer, now sitting next to the brunette.

Rachel lovingly cups the blonde's cheek, pulling her in for a gentle kiss.

After their lips brush, Rachel's mouth hovers Quinn's cheek and earlobe teasingly, making the blonde catch her breath.

"I'm more than ready." she whispers in Quinn's ear, her voice huskier than ever before.

Having jolts of electricity sent through her body, Quinn grasps the brunette's arm involuntarily and her hand slides down to the hem of her shirt.

Quinn's hands trail Rachel's ribcage, eliciting soft moans from the brunette. Every inch of flesh in Rachel's body stiffens and she arches against the blonde's slender hands in anticipation.

Quinn starts to plant kisses down Rachel's neck, feeling its steady pulsations against her swollen lips.

"Quinn", a small plead comes out of the brunette's mouth, without her even realizing.

As a response, the blonde carefully unclasps Rachel's bra, taking the time to stare at the sight in front of her when she's done.

"You're beautiful." She says, looking into Rachel's darkened eyes, her own hazel now dark brown.

Rachel's hands pull Quinn closer. She unclasps the blonde's bra and Quinn makes their lips meet again, hovering on top of her. They both smile into the kiss, hands lovingly caressing skin. Erect nipples brush, abs slide and tongues dance heatedly. Low-pitched moans echo around the room, their need for each other growing stronger and stronger at every second.

After hands trail down from chest to lower abdomen, finally reaching their desired destination, the room is converted into deep breaths, whispers and moans to each other's names. Just Quinn and Rachel, blonde and brunette, hazel and chocolate, and the sheer need to memorize every second of this forever.

After some time, Rachel feels her stomach coil and her legs tremble uncontrollably as she's sent over the edge. At the sight of Rachel screaming her name out loud, with eyes shut and cheeks flushed and beautiful layers of sweat on her forehead, Quinn comes undone as well and lets her body fall next to the brunette's, completely exhausted.

The girls reach out for a small kiss and rest their foreheads together, smiling. Their eyes meet again and Rachel wraps her arms around Quinn's neck, letting her head rest on the blonde's shoulder.

"God, I've wanted to do this for so long, Rach.", Quinn reveals, lowering her head to look at the brunette. "I just could never admit it to myself until yesterday."

"I'd say that's quite controversial if I didn't feel exactly the same way. You were always the prettiest girl I'd ever seen and everything else, but I never thought that meant I actually had feelings for you other than, you know, idolizing you."

"To me, you were always a very annoying tiny jewish teenager with a voice that made me want to cry every time you sang." Quinn says; her index finger slightly touching Rachel's nose. "And, most importantly, one that cared when no one else did."

"I love you." Rachel whispers, pressing a kiss to the crook of the blonde's neck.

"I love you too." Quinn replies, kissing the brunette's nose, right before they both drift off to sleep.


	13. The Playlist

So, here's a list including most of the songs I mentioned in the story, was inspired by or felt were relevant. Some are even chapter titles. It kinda follows the order of the events.

_**Be There **_by **Howie Day**_. _'_If you're gonna be there, be there. If you're gonna stay, stay tonight.'_

_**Breathe In Breathe Out **_by **Mat Kearney**_._ '_Breathe in, breathe out, tell me all of your doubts; everybody bleeds this way, just the same. Breathe in, breathe out, move on and break down; if everyone goes away, I will stay.'_

_**Arms**_ by **Christina Perri**_.__ 'I hope that you see right through my walls... I hope that you catch me, 'cause I'm already falling.'_

_**Cold Coffee **_by **Ed Sheeran**._'She's like cold coffee in the morning, I'm drunk off last night's whiskey and coke… She'll make me shiver without warning, and make me laugh as if I'm in on the joke.'_

_**In My Veins **_by **Andrew Belle**._ 'Everything will change, nothing stays the same, nobody is perfect, oh, but everyone's to blame.'_

_**Haunted (Acoustic Version) **_by **Taylor Swift**._ 'You and I walk a fragile line, I have known it all this time, but I never thought I'd live to see it break.'_

_**Distance**_ by **Christina Perri**._ 'The sun is filling up the room, and I can hear you dreaming... Do you feel the way I do right now?' … 'Please don't stand so close to me, I'm having trouble breathing… I'm afraid of what you'll see right now.'_

_**Into You **_by **Ingrid Michaelson**_.__ 'Fool, I'm a fool to believe I can do without you to repair all the wreckage and ruin. Close every door, fall asleep on the floor, nothing more to this room but a girl in a jar.'_

_**Runaway **_by **The Audition**._ 'You run away from everything, that's all you've ever known about yourself… You just run away making the same mistakes, it's hard to love when I've been stuck in hell.'_

_**Little Bit **_by **Lykke Li**_.__ 'Hands down, I'm too proud for love. But with eyes shut, it's you I'm thinking of. But how we move from A to B?, it can't be up to me, 'cause you don't know.'_

_**Wait **_by **M83**_.__ 'Send your dreams where nobody hides, give your tears to the tide… of time…'_

_**Fact-Fiction **_by **Mads Langer**_.__ 'Remember that night you were with me, fell asleep by my side, strangers together, your hand in mine? How come we never came closer, when all the stars were aligned? I thought we had a moment…'_

_**You Could Be Happy **_by **Snow Patrol**_.__ 'Is it too late to remind you of what we were? But not our last days of silence, screaming, blur. Most of what I remember makes me sure. I should've stopped you from walking out the door. You could be happy, I hope you are. You made me happier than I'd been by far.'_

_**New York **_by **Snow Patrol**_.__ 'The lone neon lights and the heat of the ocean, and the fire that was starting to spark... I miss it all, from the love to the lightning, and the lack of it snaps me in two. Just give me a sign there's an end in that beginning, to the quiet chaos driving me back.'_

_**Try **_by **P!nk**_.__ 'Where there is desire there's gonna be a flame, where there is a flame someone's bound to get burned... But just because it burns, doesn't mean you're gonna die, you gotta get up and try, try, try.'_

_**Drunk **_by **Ed Sheeran**_.__ 'Should I? Should I? Maybe I'll get drunk again. I'll be drunk again. I'll be drunk again... to feel a little love.'_

_**This One's for You **_by **Ed Harcourt**_.__ 'And I can't stop staring at you and your expression looks a little confused, this little story will end so well.'_

_**Catch Me **_by **Demi Lovato**_.__ 'Run far away, so I can breathe… Even though you're far from suffocating me. I can't set my hopes too high, 'cause every hello ends with a goodbye.'_

_**Holding On And Letting Go **_by **Ross Copperman**_.__ 'It's everything you wanted, it's everything you don't. It's one door swinging open and one door swinging closed.'_

_**Be Here Now **_by **Ray LaMontagne**_.__ 'Don't lose your faith in me and I will try not to lose faith in you. Don't put your trust in walls, 'cause walls will only crush you when they fall.'_

_**Gravity **_by **Sara Bareilles**_.__ 'Something always brings me back to you, it never takes too long.' _

_**A Thousand Years **_by **Christina Perri**_.__ 'Time stands still, beauty in all she is... I will be brave, I will not let anything take away what's standing in front of me... Every breath, every hour has come to this.'_

_**State Of Grace (Acoustic Version) **_by **Taylor Swift**_.__ 'We are alone with our changing minds, we fall in love 'till it hurts or bleeds or fades in time… And I never saw you coming… And I'll never be the same.'_

_**This **_by **Ed Sheeran**._ 'This is the start of something beautiful, this is the start of something new.'_

_**A Thousand Years **_by **The Piano Guys**_._

* * *

**8tracks - **/swift-turtle/catch-me**  
**

**mediafire - **/?w3u7pptk7q987l8


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